20 Questions
by ArielNicholas913
Summary: After running into one another in an unlikely place, Hermione and Draco find themselves enjoying one another's company. Will this be a friendship that lasts? Or will it bloom into something else? How will the Wizarding World take this new relationship? Or will they even find out? Rated M for later chapters
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. Any characters in the story belong to the ever so talented Lady of Writing J.K. Rowling for her I nearly owe my life as her characters helped me get through my darkest of times.

Chapter 1

Hermoine had thought about what she was going to do after Hogwarts most of her childhood and now that the war was over and she finally had a normal year at school where all her thoughts were what class she had next; she could finally focus on what was on her heart. She and Ron had been rocky recently and things didn't look like they would be getting any better. She loved him but it was beginning to feel like the love she had for Harry, and that just wouldn't do. He deserved someone who loved him in spite of his temper, new found drinking habits, and the fact that he couldn't hold a conversation about anything other than Quiddich for more than 10 minutes. He was sweet when he wanted to be, and he really cared about Hermoine but she needed someone who challenged her in many ways and he was not the answer.

"Are you going to turn the page?" a voice asked her and she came back to reality.

"Huh..Oh I was just..." the look on her face was a few things, and she felt a small blush rest on her cheeks. "Malfoy? What are you doing here?" she thought for a moment "In muggle London?"

"The war is over Granger, I am allowed to defy my father's wishes of hating muggle-borns. Now are you going to answer my question or sit there gaping at me like a fish?" she wanted to retort and say something rude but realized he was smirking, laughing a little even. He was right, the war was over and prejudice should be long forgotten. Even though they both knew better, she thought she could at least try.

"I just have a lot on my mind and got distracted. It so happens from time to time Malfoy that I do more in my life than read."

"While I am aware of that Granger, I just saw that you had not turned the page in quiet some time, so I thought I would at least ask if everything was ok. Believe it or not I do more than make fun of you all the time." there it was again, that smirk of arrogance and if she was being honest; his teeth were the purest shade of white and exceptionally straight. Why was she noticing this?

"I am fine Dra—Malfoy, just have a lot on my mind. Since the war ended 4 years ago and we have all finally graduated I am beginning to try and see where I am going with myself…I'm sorry, I am positive you are not wanting to hear my ramblings. Hey! What about you, you never answered me. What are you doing in Muggle London?" she noticed the lightest shade of pink brush over his pale cheeks.

He nervously ran his right hand through his hair wondering if he should say anything. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable. The Muggle world was where she came to escape from the cameras and doting fans. He decided he would tell her the truth, he was done lying to Hermoine Granger and she needed to know he was not the same git from school "Actually, I am living here now. My flat is down the road from this park and I come here almost every morning to just breathe in the air. Living in Wizarding London was how do I put it lightly? Complete hell. Finding a job is almost impossible when you are not only a former Death Eater, but famed sworn enemy or The Boy Who Lived Twice."

Hermoine lifted her head and the light from the sun shined at just the right angle that the honey brown color in her eyes took him by surprise. He had never noticed the color of her eyes before why was he now? She was staring at him clearly in shock of the words that just left his mouth.

In her shock she realized her mouth was slightly turning up into a smile and she couldn't help but smile. He was living in Muggle London and was ok with that. He was not repulsed by everything here, and he was walking around in dark washed blue jeans and a black V-Neck T-Shirt. And then the realization hit her like a ton of bricks and the reality was her best friend's sworn enemy was living around the corner from her; because she only lived down the road also. Her eyes went wide and she looked at him and saw he was staring at her. Probably attempting to see what was going through her mind.

"So..Muggle London is where you came to find refuge? Mmm who would have thought that Draco Bloody Malfoy would be here in London on a park bench drinking muggle coffee and wearing muggle clothes…" she was interrupted "and speaking to a muggle born witch who has had a mutual hate for me since we were children?"

"Well yes. This is a lot of new information to take in Malfoy." She couldn't help but feel like this meeting was anything but coincidence. Draco Malfoy – Pure-Blood – Muggle-Born Hater – Slytherin to Boot was sitting in a muggle park in muggle London talking to her! Why?! She saw his smirk again and this time he was smiling just slightly more than last time; showing off those perfect teeth once more.

"Well, shall we not dwell on the past? I mean come on Granger, as much as we hated one another in school we are adults now. The war is over Blood Prejudice doesn't exist in the Muggle World as much. The Malfoy name has zero leverage here and I earn my money day in and day out. Can we try to be adults? And maybe start fresh like we have just met once more, and not with me calling you names and you being how did my Godfather used to say; an insufferable know-it-all. I would like to get to know Hermoine Granger without Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. I mean you did speak on behalf of my mother and I at our trials and I never got to properly thank you for your undeserved kindness."

Hermoine once again sat there in complete shock at the words that Draco Malfoy had just said. What the hell was happening? Why was he being so not him? Had she really completely misjudged him entirely? Was everything that happened at school some way of trying to make his sad excuse of a Father be more accepting of him? Godric he caught her completely by surprise.

"We could always start with a simple stroll through the park and see where that takes us. We can talk and see what we can learn, have you ever played the 'game' 20 Questions?"

He furrowed his brow slightly. "No I can't say that I have but it sounds pretty self-explanatory. My guess you each get to ask one another 20 different questions?"

She nodded with a smile that almost stretched across her face.

"So who goes first?" she asked "Ladies first" he replied while also stretching his hand out as if to say shall we.

"What happened after you left Hogwarts? Not many people saw you after that."

"Just dive into the heavy stuff Granger, I of course laid out my sentence at home on house arrest for a year and unable to do any magic for at least 6 months. Shortly after my Father was telling me how much he wanted me to marry one of the pure-blood girls I went to school with. I suppose old habits die hard for him. So I informed him that I would like to take my inheritance and travel before trying for work. He of course gave it to me hesitantly but after my mother spoke to him he obliged with little complaint. I only traveled for about 3 months before I decided to come home and with that I informed my Father I would be taking my inheritance and moving. I tried finding work there but it did not go so well. Potter tried to help me quietly but The Weasel made it very hard to be discreet. So that ended quickly. The most I could get was a bar tender at the 3 Broomsticks and even then Rosmertta was losing business so I left. She didn't deserve her reputation to be screwed because of a former Death Eater working there. So I came here, and while the move took several adjustments, coming here on Saturday mornings seeing a certain brunette with honey eyes made it a little easier. And now I work at a bank downtown and make decent money to add to my name here in London where people do not run the opposite direction when they hear the name Malfoy coming down the hall. Anyway my turn!" he smiled again. She began to like that smile a lot. "What does Hermoine Granger do after she reads her book on Saturdays?"

She let out a small girlish giggle "You noticed I have a new book every week?" he shook his finger and smirked "No, no, no this is my question, no turning it back around." She laughed a little louder this time. For the first time in years she was at peace and wasn't thinking about what could have happened. She and Draco could talk without people sneering at them. It was great she thought to herself.

"What do I do after I finish reading on Saturdays? Would you like to join me for my afternoon routine? As it is Saturday and you know the banks are closed. I am not sure explaining it would quiet cover it all.

"Are we still going to play this 'game'?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm behind his voice.

"Of course, there are many things I still want answers to." She smiled and Draco couldn't help but stare at her lips. They had the lightest shade of rose on them, plump a little bit because when she gets nervous or the book gets too good she bites the lower half of her gorgeous smile.

"So technically it is my turn..." she smirked and continued her question "Do we still have to call one another by our last names? I mean it really is childish..." she had a hopeful glint in her sparkling eyes.

"If you would let me call you by your given name I would be ever so honored, Hermoine"

He couldn't help but notice the slight blush that grazed her cheeks.

Which in turn made him smile and run his hands through his hair once more; his shirt lifting just high enough that she could see the small blonde trail that led from his stomach into his trousers? She flushed as she realized she was staring and quickly turned her gaze back to his eyes.

They walked in silence for a moment and breathed in the cool autumn air.

The silence was broken when Draco spoke. "Hermoine, how did you manage when you learned you were a witch?" she stared at him a little shocked by his question. Not even Harry knew how she had handled the news. Sure she knew she was always different in school, nobody else could make things disappear when they were angry or make things fly out of pure joy. More so nobody else's hair crackled like fire when they got so angry they couldn't contain it; at least not in the muggle world.

"Well I suppose I thought it was a joke, and that it was the equivalent of people saying their siblings were dropped off by UPS or FedEx. And I was upset at first until my parents explained to me that it was in fact something very real and the Headmistress had come and seen them to explain it all. I immediately wanted every single book there was to learn about it all. And when we went and got supplies for school I got most of the books I needed including some advanced spells books that ended up helping us all later on. So I didn't handle it well at first and then of course I turned to the one thing that never let me down in my time of need." "Why do you ask?"

"Well as you know already I am still getting used to living here, all of these things are new to me. I have only lived in the muggle world for about 2 years and still struggle every day to remind myself that they do not know what half of my sayings are. And I have had struggles being alone and feeling completely out of place in this world. I guess you could say that I am a muggle-born in a completely pure-blooded society and it's extremely vexing at times." He smiled and laughed in his throat a little bit at his confession. She couldn't help but relate to his current situation and had a thought.

"What if I showed you how to be a muggle?"

End Chapter 1

I hope this meets what is required; I haven't ever done this before so I am still learning. My apologies if it is not sufficient. Reviews and critiques are encouraged. Please I need the truth now matter how harsh it is. Please note this is my first try at this.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Acquaintances

"You would help me?" He kind of laughed again but had a nervous look on his face. "Gran—Hermoine I don't expect us to be friends you know. I realize that after hurting you and teasing Harry and Ron for so many years and not to mention not helping you when you were at the manor all those years ago it takes much more than a simple 'I'm sorry'"

She shook her head, her curls had tamed since school and she smirked a little bit at his comments. It seemed like the tables had turned in her favor. But this was Hermoine Granger, and she would not hurt someone because of a past they barely had a say in; she was rational! "Draco, I realize that it will take time for us to get close to even thinking about being friends. For now why don't we settle on acquaintances who have known one another since school; and one person is showing the other how to fit in to a place that is relatively new to them?" She smiled and was surprised when he didn't sneer at her proposition. She was going to have to get used to him being nice. "Also you did help us at The Manor; you didn't tell Bellatrix that it was Harry. And I know you knew exactly who he was. You two have only been obsessed with one another since first year!" she jested.

He looked at her and saw the tears that had formed in her eyes because she was laughing so hard. "We were not obsessed with one another! If anything _He_ was obsessed with _Me_!" Hermoine laughed again, she casually rested her left hand on his shoulder to keep her balance. They really were so thick that neither Harry nor Draco realized how many times they went out of their way to make school miserable for each other! Draco stiffened a little as the blood rushed to his cheeks giving his porcelain skin a rather noticeable shade of pink. "Hah that is not what I heard.." She managed to squeak out. "Excuse me?!"

"Oh Blaise and Theo said that any chance you got, Harry Potters name left your lips; you almost always had a forced sneer and almost always knew where he was going to be in castle!" he grimaced a little at the comment, it took him a minute before finally a question rose in his mind. "Wait..you, Blaise, and Theo are friends; And on first name basis?" He almost shouted but the smirk and half laugh that left his mouth said he was more confused than anything. "We have been since we went back and did 7th year, we just chose not to make it awkward for you. We met in the library many times and studied together. Why does it surprise you so? They were never really awful to me; and after the war I thought maybe that the bad blood between Slytherin and Gryffindor should be put to rest; so we made a point and started hanging out. I find them both to be charming although Theo can have a mouth on him at times." Draco stood still as he let the words Hermoine had just spoke to him sink in. Wow things really had changed. How did he not notice his two best friends had gone and made friends with her? He really was not very observant and he realized they had stopped in front of a restaurant. "So this is where you are taking me?" Hermoine smiled with a grin that said she was hiding something. "Actually, I have lunch plans. Would you like to join me? I promise you won't be disappointed."

"Is this lunch plan with Weasley or Potter?"

"No actually it is not with any Gryffindors. But it is people from school." He tilted his head confused and finally after a few moments agreed to join her for lunch. As they walk in a familiar voice is heard over the chatter of people and clanking of forks on plates. " 'Moine over here!" She waved once to acknowledge the person yelling. Draco froze and he and the two former Slytherins in front of him shared the gaped mouths. Finally Blaise spoke"Damn, Hermoine when did you start picking up the riff raff?" he asked giving Draco a knowing glance.

Draco smiled "Riff raff? I really am not that bad

Hermoine smiled, she knew that the boys had not spoken for a while and when they did they never said anything about her. For a while she thought it was simply because they didn't want him to know they had made good with a _mudblood_ as she was so accustomed to being called. Even after the wizarding war Hermoine was still wary of being around the purebloods. Even though Theo and Blaise had informed her time and time again that they had all changed, she wasn't so sure everyone had changed for the better.

"Oh with that question I could say back at Hogwarts with you lot!" she laughed and the boys sent her a playful scowl. Draco was still extremely confused. Theo and Blaise both knew that he had a flame for the witch in front of him since second year. When she stood up to his father; talking about the meaning of the word fear. And then how she had held herself after Bellatrix had tortured her. He shivered at the memory. He was brought back to the present by Hermoine speaking to him.

"Draco, stop thinking so hard. It screws your face up, and nobody wants wrinkles in that porcelain face of yours." He smirked a little trying to once again hide the tinge of pink in his cheeks. As lunch continued he found he rather enjoyed Hermoine's company.

They all ate and talked for what seemed like hours. After a while, Hermoine looked at her watch and with a sad face she said unfortunately she must go. She reminded Theo and Blaise of the party at her house that evening and informed Draco that his first lesson would begin right now. They walked outside and into an ally way so Draco could side along apparate to her flat.

I am so sorry for not getting chapter 2 out. I was busy with life!

I know this is also a short chapter but I wanted to get one out.

Please leave me your thoughts. Good and bad. PM me if you feel I need to fix things I will certainly keep that in mind!

y'all have a great evening!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Party

"Hermione I really don't feel like I should be here." Draco was entirely caught off guard by her sudden announcement. And he was having a hard time understanding how _this_ could possibly be a lesson. He knew about parties, his mother had always had lavish parties throughout his youth. Unfortunately, he never had the _pleasure_ of helping. His mother always was too flustered when planning parties so he stayed out of the way.

"The party is not the lesson silly, you helping me with the dinner this evening is the lesson. One must first know how to cook for themselves if they are to live in the muggle world Draco, and microwavable dishes are not a proper dinner." She smirked at him knowing she was right and sat her things down on the couch. "I am going to get changed and showered, so give me 20 minutes and we will get started. There are some other clothes in the guest bedroom down the hall if you would like to change also." with that she walked away humming a tune that Draco had never heard but it sounded nice.

She came out exactly 20 minutes later with her up in semi wet pony tail, something she didn't sport very often. But she seemed to have managed a few spells to keep her hair from being a poofy mess.

Draco was simply sitting on her couch quiet comfortably Hermione had noticed and he had his head leaned back with his arms across his chest. "Draco, are you awake?" she asked hoping he wasn't asleep. It would have been terribly hard to pass up the opportunity to take a photo of the sleeping former Slytherin on her couch. Of course that would only be the best thing to happen if he looked anything but pristine. He would have to have some drool or something hanging from his mouth if she was going to do that. With the image in her mind of a less than well primed Draco Malfoy she couldn't hold back the giggle that erupted from her throat.

He looked at her with a bit of confusion as she had not shared what was making her laugh so hysterically. After a few moments she waved her hand as if would help her compose herself and informed Draco what had made her laugh. He grimaced a little but couldn't argue with the fact that would be funny. And he would NEVER say it out loud but on more than one occasion he has been known to wake up with a streak of saliva hanging from his lips. So he of course laughed a little also.

"Oh we need to start cooking so we know we have plenty of time!" she bounced off to what Draco assumed was the kitchen. He followed behind her and saw that her kitchen and dining area were not as extravagant as his at the manor, it was perfect for several friends and family.

It took a few minutes but he realized that she

"Okay first things. A good chef and sous chef know what is on the menu for the evening. Tonight we will be having chicken fetticini alfredo with breadsticks, salad with dressing, and soup that contains sausage, potatoes, and kale. The appetizer will be stuffed mushrooms and we will have wine and firewhiskey for beverages." She beamed as she finished telling him what they were having. She turned slightly and grabbed a piece of paper from the counter and handed it to Draco. Pointing to the cupboard behind him "For your first task we will be marinating the chicken. So here is a list of spices that I need from behind you. Grab those and a bowl from the cupboard next to it if you would please." He nodded and walked to the cupboard and started getting the ingredients on the paper.

"Hermione, I don't mean to sound rude but how many people are you cooking for exactly? I mean you Theo, Blaise, I assume Potter and Weasley cannot possibly eat all of this food can you? I mean what you're making sounds like its being made for a small army!" she giggled a bit as she cut the rosemary for the marinade.

"Oh I'm awful! I assumed you knew. It wont be just us, although never underestimate how much Ronald Weasley can eat. Tonight is Pansy's birthday party. She doesn't know we have anything planned. And we invited Daphne Milli and Greg. Of course Theo and Blaise will be here also. Neville and Susan Ginny and Harry. So a fair few will be here this evening."

"I noticed you didn't say Weasley would be here."

"Not for lack of invitation. He still has reservations about the company and I honestly couldn't handle his temper today. And I don't want for Pansys birthday to be ruined because he is unable to civil for an evening." He noticed how she clenched the knife in her hand. Her hair began to crackle with static of anger coursing through her body and realized the weasel was still deserving of his childhood nickname. Clearly he upset Hermione by his behavior towards her friends.

"So….you have many of my _former_ friends as your current ones? Anyone else from Slytherin house I should be aware of?"

She tapped her right index finger on her bottom lip and thought for a moment. "No, I don't believe there is anyone else." She laughed a little noticing he was trying to divert the conversation from Ron.

 _ ***Flashback***_

" _How can you hang out with them Hermione?! They were deatheaters and tried to kill you! Not to mention Pansy your new best friend over there attempted to hand Harry over to Voldemort! And you want them to be a part of your life all the time like you're old chums! I will not stand for this Hermione. I will not sit here and watch you throw yourself to the wolves for a bit of attention! You shouldn't dismiss your_ real _friends because you found new enemies in the form of friends!"_

" _ENOUGH RONALD! They_ _ **were**_ _deatheaters, their lives changed the day they fought with us instead of against us! Even Malfoy has disappeared to Godric knows where because he was always thought of as a deatheater who tried to kill Dumbledore! Prejudice should be over! You're being a prat simply because I took the time to make new friends! Pansy has been nothing but apologetic about her past and has come to me many times about it. You have no idea the nightmares that were happening behind closed doors Rona-"_

" _Like I give a Damn about what so called nightmares any of them had throughout that war! None of them had to endure what we did all 6 years at Hogwarts! They couldn't have imagined what we went through, what we sacrificed. All they had to do was sit and look pretty for they Dark Lord! Its not like anything bad happened to them while they were under his care!"_

She lifted her head, tears streaming her cheeks. She knew exactly what happened behind closed doors. Pansy came to her after the war was over and broke down in her home. She let it all out. Everything, all the things she had been through things no woman should ever have to endure. But she did, even Malfoy had to do some things that were horrific because his family was not exactly in the Dark Lords good graces. He had to work to keep his family alive and he had to do tasks that would send anyone with a mind into insanity.

" _get out…."_

" _Excuse me?"_

" _Get out Ronald! I will not be told who my friends can and cannot be! And I certainly will not be given ultimatums! Get out."_

" _Fine Hermione, but don't come crying to me when they all break your pathetic heart!"_

 _With that Ronald Weasley walked out._

 _ ***End Flashback**_

Hermione thought back to her most resent argument with Ron and she once again started fuming. Every time over the past few years she would mention her friends besides Harry, Ron's temper would flare and it started getting worse the more he drank. She knew their relationship wouldn't last much longer. She also didn't know when a good time to bring it up would be.

"So what is next then?"

They spent the next several hours preparing for the evening and having light conversation about their lives. Learning more about one another.

Finally the soup was being set to simmer and they could take a few moments to relax.

"So tell me Hermione, what does the bookworm do when she has a moment to herself?"

"Well usually I have a glass of wine and read if you must know" she giggled softly

"That sounds _exciting_ " he joked.

"Oh it's just exhilarating" this back and forth banter seemed almost normal. And she enjoyed the time they had spent together making dinner. "Draco, do you have plans for the evening?"

He thought for a moment "No, I don't believe I do. I would probably go home and catch up on shows that I watch from time to time. I probably need to catch up on my reading also. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you _did_ help me make a rather extravagant meal and I think Pansy would love to see you. She speaks of you often, and I know its been a while since you have spoken."

"Of all of the people in my life I didn't think Pansy would be one to reminisce and be open about it."

"She is more open with me. Her and I have become rather close after the war. She didn't have many other girls to talk to you know."

The truth was that after the war Hermione was the only one willing to listen to Pansy. The day that Pansy showed up on her front steps it was never the same between the pair. She invited her guest in for tea and then Pansy poured her heart out for hours. And she listened completely the whole time without interruption. When she was done talking she passed out from the mental exhaustion that plagued her for so long. When she woke up she apologized for everything. From trying to give Harry up in Hogwarts to just showing up unannounced at her home. Their friendship blossomed from there into something out of a muggle comedy.

"I suppose if you think it would be okay if I stayed for dinner that would be great" he smiled again and she couldn't help but return the same gesture.

"Fantastic! I just know that everyone will be so happy to see you! If you need to change and shower you are welcome to appear home and back into the house. Or could floo over. I don't have wards in my muggle home so you should be able to get in and out without much problem. Or as I said earlier there are changes of clothes in the guest room. Our party is not formal, a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt would suffice."

"I can run home. I appreciate the offer to get ready here but I feel it would be best to get ready in my own home. And on top of that I need to get Pansy something for her birthday. What time does this party actually begin?."

"Silly me, that is important information. It will start at 7 sharp."

"Great I have plenty of time then."

With a smirk he turned around, walked into her front step and smirked to himself. Who knew that Hermione Granger would be so much fun.

"Hermione?" Harry called out

"In the dining room!" she called out.

She was placing the settings for the evening.

For Pansy she went all out. Her favorite dinner, favorite wine, even favorite colors.

She placed the last bit of silverware by the black and blue plate when Harry walked in.

"Oh Harry, you're early! Did Ginny come with you? Oh I cannot wait for everyone to get here. Hopefully Pansy enjoys it."

"I am positive everything will be great 'Mione." A sweet voice made its way into the room. She looked over Harry's shoulder and saw a pale redheaded woman. She looked stunning as always but she noticed that she had a look of _oh my God I'm about to avada the man in front of you._ "Oh Ginny I am so happy you came! Pansy will be so pleased to see you again. You know she enjoyed that shopping trip you two went on a few weeks ago."

"Like she said, she will love it."

She was about to speak when a knock at the door interrupted informing Hermione that others were starting to arrive.

Sorry for the delayed chapter y'all.

Thank you for the reviews and kind words! Ill be gone for a few weeks on vacation but when I get back I promise a new chapter will be uploaded.

Let me know what you all think!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Definition of Awkward

Hermione opened the door to her flat and was shocked to see a tall red head leaning against her door frame. "Ronald?! I – I didn't think you would be coming!" she was hesitant at first and then moved to the side so he could come in. She didn't hug him, or kiss his cheek like she usually did.

"I know I was angry Hermione but I want to try" there was an uncomfortable silence until Hermione spoke up again.

"I am glad you are here, but Ronald?" she was attempting to hold her temper. He had angered her during their last fight that had nearly gone too far and she feared this was the end of an already dead relationship.

"Yeah?"

"Please try to get along with my other friends?"

Resisting the urge to sneer at her words he replied with a snarky "I am here aren't I? I said I wanted to try 'Mione."

Hermione walked away to the kitchen and counted backwards from ten. She listened carefully to see if her current boyfriend was saying anything that might set her off. She really did want Pansy's party to be a success. Last year had been hard for her; she lost the only family she had left after the war that was kind to her just before her actual birthday. This was simply a celebration a few days before with close friends. Getting her to agree was the hard part and Hermione didn't want anybody fighting tonight. It was all about Pansy!

Looking around her flat Ron noticed that Hermione had changed some things in the past month. He had not been around much since their most recent argument and he wasn't sure if she would be okay with him here for the evening but he cared for Hermione, he wanted to remain friends with her. He knew their relationship was burning and he wanted to try and mend it before it was nothing but ashes. He looked around and noticed all the photos that didn't move, he also noticed that he was not a part of many of the ones that did. And the worst part is he should have been. The paint in her living room was now a purple color Hermione loved; he couldn't recall the actual name though. Much better than the bland white she used to have. She had new furniture; her couch was a light tan color and soft like velvet and in the shape of an 'L'. Her television was on the wall above the fireplace and on either side had vases of fake blue carnations and baby's breath; the vases were filled halfway to the top with glass like pebbles. It looked nice; everything looked great with her dark hard wood floors. The only thing he noticed she did NOT change.

He knew he was being an asshole but he felt like she was being irrational. All of her logic thrown out the window the day he came over to Hermione's flat and found her consoling a very upset Pansy Parkinson. How could she want to be friends with that woman? She tried to give Ron's best friend to Voldemort! Hermione was smarter than this and to Ronald Weasley she was being rather daft! Over the past couple of years their fights all started when she would say the former enemies of 'The Golden Trio' were going to hang out with her at her flat or that they were going to dinner or something to that degree. Tonight he came simply to try and see if he could stand them and if he could would he be able to tolerate them enough to actually have a good time with them?

"Well, it is a surprise you showed up Ron. But I am glad that you did, I am sure Hermione is thrilled you are here at least trying?"

"Well you know I don't understand her sudden interest in these people, but I mean it isn't like they are Draco Malfoy or anything."

Harry gave his wife a look that said 'this will not go well' and she rolled her eyes at him.

Ron noticed the sudden tension between his sister and best friend "Everything okay?" he said pointing at each of them.

"Huh? Oh yes we are fine Ron. Just a little shocked that you are here is all. I am going to see if Hermione needs an extra wand."

Ginny walked into the kitchen and saw all of the food that was prepared and was once again shocked at how much time Hermione had put into the evening's festivities.

"So, what is wrong Ginny?" Hermione asked giving her friend a knowing look "I saw that look you were giving Harry when you walked in earlier. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, everything is fine. Harry and I got into an argument about Ron and him acting like a child again. We were shocked he showed up because he and Harry had gotten into a row before we left the house tonight. Ron was going on and on about how you were being stupid for being friends with so many former enemies and apparently think all of these friendships are sudden, we of course know better. We have all been around them for some time now. It's not like it really should come as a shock to anyone. We all matured over the last few years, we are not in house rivalry anymore and the pureblood – muggle born prejudice is mostly gone from our world; aside from a select few." Ginny said pointing her head towards her brother.

"So what was the argument about exactly? I am confused."

"Well Harry started taking Ron's side at one point and it really bothered me. He being your best friend knows that you would not intentionally get into a situation without going through every scenario possible first. But Ron started to use guilt on Harry, I ended that quickly but Harry didn't understand why I wasn't seeing both sides. And honestly if everything had happened suddenly I don't know how I would see things. But I have been around Pansy, Theo, and Blaise enough to know that they are nothing like they used to be. And for Harry to even think about _going to the dark side_ is an immediate turn off. So we fought a minute before he saw reason, but I still wanted to slap him in his stupid face." Hermione chuckled at that last bit and thanks Ginny for sticking for her and her friends. They had all become very close, minus Ron who decided anyone who was once in Slytherin house was a terrible person. They made mistakes but you cannot help how you are raised. What matters is learning to be able to speak for yourself and know right from wrong.

"I love Ron, Ginny but I don't think this relationship is going to last if he cannot accept my friends and forgive their pasts."

"I will understand whichever way this turns out Hermione, now to get to what is important!" she said with a little bit of squeal.

"Ah, yes Pansy's Party!"

"No! You didn't think that you would get away with not explaining a certain blonde ferret that you were eating lunch with today now did you?"

Hermione felt the blush creep up her neck and with a laugh dove into her morning with Draco. She told Ginny about him helping her with dinner, and that he might even show up. Of course Ginny and Harry thought he would probably be there judging by what they were told after lunch that day. Hermione does not simply start being nice to someone and then not invite them to a party especially if it involved so many of their old friends. Now that it was confirmed Ginny was worried Draco might show up and the fire from hell would boil from Ron's core and explode in the small flat.

Just as she was about wave the thought out of her mind, thinking Ron walked into the kitchen being followed by a blonde

"Mione' another guest has arrived." The look on Ron's face told the two witches that he was not happy and he was very confused. "When did he get invited to this party? I don't remember you saying he was coming." He seemed calm but on the inside Hermione knew he was holding it together by a thin string.

"I invited him today….at lunch…..with Blaise and Theo…." Ron had never liked that Hermione had lunches with the other two men, mostly because he didn't know them. But that was his own fault; he wouldn't hang around if they were all going to be there also.

"So, not only did you have lunch with TWO people I have asked you NOT to be around ALONE but you also had lunch Draco Malfoy?" she saw the heavy rising and falling of his chest and knew he was going to burst with anger any moment. She needed to get a handle on the situation before things escalated.

"Ron, Blaise and Theo met me today to go over last minute party ideas. And I ran into Draco in the park this Morning while I was reading. And invited him along because he is Pansy's friend and I thought perhaps he would like to be a part of today." Hermione had a call exterior but inside she was seething. How dare he act like these men are going to hurt her. They had been nothing but gentlemen since they started being friends. Even if he didn't trust the men in question couldn't he at least trust her judgement? Ugh this man was infuriating.

"I am trying 'Mione, but I'm not sure I can handle this. I'll give it a go for your sake. But don't ask me to be happy."

"Honestly Ronald if you don't want to be here you can leave. It's not like any of us expected you to be here tonight anyways." She had a point, he had told her that he would rather be Avadad then be a room with her bloody weird friends.

"I will stay." He tried not to grimace when he said it.

"Fantastic! We will set another place for you."

Hermione was happy that he was trying. She ran up to him and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "Thank you Ron. It means a lot that you're here tonight"

Looking into her deep toffee colored eyes he couldn't help but hug her and bury his head in her wavy hair. She had learned to tame it with some charms that Ginny had showed her and liked it better this way. "I'm trying Hermione, it won't be easy but I want us to work. You look ravishing tonight by the way." He let her go to arms length so he could appreciate her figure more. She smiled at him and then decided maybe tonight wouldn't be _so_ bad.

At that moment Blaise walked in and informed everyone that Pansy and Theo were almost there. He looked in the kitchen and saw a second redhead. "Who invited Weasel here?" he joked. Ron didn't take it that way. But he held his tongue for once.

"Blaise, so happy you're here. Maybe you and Ron can play some wizards chess for a bit while I finish last minute things for dinner. Maybe Blaise will give you a run for your money Ron. He really is quiet good." She was beaming. All of her favorite people were going to be in the same room! And not fighting. She knew this night was about Pansy but she couldn't help but feel like this was a present to herself! Nothing would beat this moment. She was drinking it all in when they heard Pansy's voice outside the door.

"DRACO! YOU'RE HERE!" she practically leaped into his arms making him nearly topple over. "Theodore Nott! Why didn't you tell me that Draco would be here tonight?!" she was beaming and it did nothing but make her husband the happiest man alive. She had been dreading coming out tonight but knew that Hermione was trying to help her out in her depressed state over her parents. Birthdays would never be quiet the same.

"Well Love, I didn't want to say he would be here and then the opposite be true once we got to the party. I couldn't bear to see you hurt." Pansy let go of Draco and gave her husband a very deep and passionate kiss followed by the promise to show him his birthday thank you when they got home.

"Oh Hermione, it is just beautiful in here. Your décor is lovely, who did it for you?"

"I did actually; I was tired of the boring white walls and decided I needed a change."

"You know you could go into business with me with this kind of inspiration. I will make the clothes, you can decorate the insides of homes and the closets the lovely clothes would be going into! That would be so fun!" She swooned and sniffed the air a little bit. "Oh Hermione you made all my favorites!"

"Correction, Draco and I made all your favorites." She said smiling at the witch. She looked at Draco who had a tinge of pink on his cheeks which made her smile even more.

"Draco knows how to cook? The muggle way?" she asked seeming a little skeptical.

"Well I am helping him learn how to do a few things the muggle way, apparently he has been living off of those microwavable meals and burns water." she joked

"I do NOT burn water Hermione!" he laughed a little so everyone knew he wasn't really angry.

Ron looked ill. The idea of him having to sit at dinner with the youngest Malfoy was going to be difficult enough. Now he was going to have to _enjoy_ a meal he helped make? Ugh this day could not get any worse.

"I think she is in love right now Ms. Granger you out did yourself" Theo was staring at his wife with an adoring expression as she tasted a little bit of all the things that were laid out in front of her. Hermione couldn't help the lone tear that danced down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away not wanting anyone to see it. She had only ever hoped Ron would look at her with adoring eyes but always came short.. Always having some excuse to exit stage right when it came to any other emotion other than angry.

"Since everyone is here, why don't we all sit and eat?" She masked a smile that would make everyone think she was just fine. As the evening passed they had went through several glasses of wine with dinner and then moved to the study for a few muggle games. They went from wine to whiskey because they had all decided to play Never Have I Ever and if you had not done the task then you didn't drink. If you had participated in the task then you drank and sometimes this could reveal some juicy secrets.

"Never have I ever kissed a witch or wizard of the same gender" Theo proclaimed with a slight drunken slur. They had managed to go through an entire bottle of firewhiskey already and were currently on their second one.

Everyone in the room stared at one another; finally Ginny took the first drink. Then Harry, then Pansy, and to her surprise Draco and Theo. Blaise was of course grinning ear to ear as he thought long and hard about all the witches and…..yes he took a drink! And wizards he had kissed in his lifetime. He didn't mind experimenting. Everyone was staring at Hermione with dumbfounded looks. "Hermione Granger, you had better drink out of that crystal glass!" Ginny was giving her a knowing look.

"Hermione? You have kissed a witch?" Blaise asked, everyone stared at her and glanced at Ginny wondering what she knew. "I must (hiccup) hear this story!" Draco was the only one not surprised. He had actually witnessed this moment and thought back to it often. Hermione Granger did not back down from dares nor was she called a coward.

"This story I must hear!" Gasped Pansy; with a slight slur.

"Good Godric do none of you feel like that's a little personal?"

"No actually we do not. Besides I would like to know what witch my girlfriend has fallen for" Ron laughed a little bit; as he started making a list in his mind of who it could possibly be.

"Heavens Ronald, don't be a pig. Fine it was 5th year, me Ginny, Hannah Abbott, Pavarti Patel, Lavander Brown, and Susan Bones were in the astronomy tower being naughty and out past curfew. We played truth or dare and I was dated to kiss Lavender or Ginny with passion. So, I chose the latter and we shared a very passionate kiss that night." She smiled wide and was blushed a little. She had just told her friends and boyfriend that she had snogged his sister.

She looked at Ron for some kind of reaction and he looked almost angry. It was a dare; surely he couldn't be angry with her. It happened so long ago. They are adults and all of them had clearly done something crazy in their school days.

"Ron, are you okay?"

"Okay? You expect me to be okay after you just told everyone about you being a slag all for some dare?"

Ginny interrupted "Ron, it's a game of Never Have I Ever and _that_ was a game of Truth or Dare. When have you ever backed down from a dare?" she saw him thinking hard "Exactly so you cannot get upset with Hermione about something because it was all in good fun of the game."

"Yes Ginny, I should give my _girlfriend_ a special pass because she was made to look easy with a bunch of girls. And she corrupted my _sister_!"

"First of all I was not your girlfriend at the time Ronald! You have no right to get mad at for something I did when I was _single!_ "

He thought some more. She was right, he shouldn't be angry. But he was because none of the 3 women in his life had ever told him about that night. He saw Lav at least 3 times a week for various reasons. At first it was innocent, he had been shopping at the book store for a new book for Hermione when she approached him and he was instantly reminded of all the times they had. He couldn't help himself after that.

"Hold on, and second of all I did NOT corrupt your sister. It was a game and I won." She said with a devilish smile.

"Can we get on with the game now?" Blaise asked impatiently

"Yes, please!" shouted Ginny a little too loud.

"Never have I ever sprained something during sex" Blaise wriggled his eye brows to everyone before taking a long drink of whisky. Everyone except Hermione took a drink, suddenly everyone was staring and she grew red with embarrassment. "What?" Ron felt himself start to blush. He realized that he had not sprained his thigh while he was with Hermione. Maybe she wouldn't catch it this time. In fact he prayed she didn't.

"Ron, what could you have possibly sprained?" it was her understanding that they had been one another's firsts for sex at least. He still didn't answer he tried to pull his stomach out of the sink hole it just fell into as he realized that Hermione was connecting the dots.

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Thank you for all of my reviews and help from my beta on helping me out with critiquing of my work. Please let me know what you all think. It took me some time to write this due to home life getting kind of crazy. Everyone have a great rest of June!

Thanks everyone!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Ron apologizes…..Again

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and let out a small regretful sigh. He knew the explosion that was about to happen, and he wasn't sure how to handle it. He and Hermione had been taking a 'break' at the time. It was more his decision than hers; see Hermione was not wanting to sleep together yet, well actually if you thought about it technically she would stay the night or Ron would stay at her flat but sleeping was all that ever happened and Ron was starting to want more. They had been together for so long and had planned a future why not just get the awkward 'So we are doing this?' moment out of the way.

But Hermione wanted to be more traditional, she didn't want to have sex until the night of her wedding with the man she had married and had promised forever to. So that day at the bookstore changed everything when he had run into Lavender. She was not shy in voicing her opinions about Ron and Hermione's relationship; she had never liked Hermione and was looking for a way to sabotage their relationship because when Lavender Brown wanted something or someone she always got what she wanted.

So they had started out with innocent coffee, of course it wasn't all innocent; but it had moved from there. Ron hadn't told Hermione about their meetings and they only ever met in the magical world where people wouldn't recognize them. He didn't want it getting back to Hermione's ears that he was visiting with his ex-girlfriend. Not that it mattered really; she was always so captivated by work that she never really seemed to notice Ron's absence. But since they didn't live together it was easy enough to get away.

He felt guilty at first but not because he was purposefully cheating on his girlfriend. The one that helped him in school, the girl he pinned over for so long. The woman who had told him he was being a prat. She even stuck by his side even after he left during their search for horcruxes. She had loved him deeply and he never wanted to hurt her. But sometimes when she got all book-worm Hermione it was hard to be around her. He wanted to feel needed and with Hermione he wasn't ever needed. She could always do things for herself and often pushed herself to do just that. He knew he needed to end things with Hermione, he knew it wasn't right to continue in this lie. He was brought back from his thoughts as he felt a sting on the back of his arm.

"Ow! Ginny, that hurt!" he turned around to see a very angry and disappointed red head.

"Ronald?" he heard the subtle quiver in her voice and knew she was on the verge of tears. In his little moment of thought to himself Hermione had in fact connected all of the dots and it became clear that he had just slipped.

"Mion-" he was cut off

"Please Mr. Weasley, I ask you don't use that name when speaking to me at the moment." He nodded knowing if he was being called by his last name that this wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Hermione, could we talk?"

She shrugged her shoulders; she had her arms crossed and was standing stiffly in the middle of the living room. "We are talking, what you like to say?" she kept her cool demeanor.

"I mean privately? Please?" he gave her pleading eyes hoping she wouldn't make him say everything in front of everyone including Draco Malfoy. Oh he would just have a field day with this.

She looked him up and down and thought for a moment, she shook her head agreeing that they could go to the other room to talk.

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They walked to the bedroom that they had shared so many times. Thinking of all of the memories that they had shared in a single space made her heart lurch. She turned around quickly in time to see Ron close the door and cast a silencing charm on the room. She wanted to throw herself at him and kick him and punch him and just hurt him. And doing it with a wand wasn't the same as doing it with your own hands. She recalled hitting Malfoy in the face the slow turn up of her lips at the memory made her realize it really does make you feel better sometimes.

"Hermione?" she looked up at Ron and tears pooled in her eyes.

"Hermione" he said again. "I am so, _so,_ sorry! I should have told you. When you and I had gone on our break last year I was getting you a book. And Lavender was there and we started out having coffee and it continued even after we had gotten back together. I had not been able to tell you because you just seemed so happy. I didn't want to hurt you see?"

He made a move to grab her hands but she stepped back. She didn't want to be pulled into his 'I'm sorry I hurt you I won't do it again spill' "I'm sorry Ron, but this between us is over. It hurts, but honestly just today I was thinking that I didn't want to be with you anymore. Your drinking has gotten relatively worse over the past year, although now I see why. You were keepings secrets and that stresses you out; your temper is out of control, you can't even be around my friends _just_ because they _were_ in Slytherin House. That is childish and I will NOT tolerate it any longer. I'm sorry, but I think you are right. It is for the best if we don't see one another anymore. I am sad that we were not able to work things out, but happy that it is ending on a mutual note. Can we arrange to get our things from one another's homes? I don't have much at your place and you have less here." Ron stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face. She had been thinking of breaking things off with him?! Why? He was awesome! He was constantly told so by Lav. He didn't feel like this would be the appropriate time or place to say anything though. "I will make sure that you can come get your things soon. I will owl you, I have to make sure Lav isn't home." He stopped realizing that what he said sounded like Lavender lived with him; which technically she didn't. She stayed the night almost every night though and made dinners, lunches, and cleaned. Mmm he thought maybe she did move in.

"She has been living with you?" Hermione asked her calm tone now menacing.

She could handle breaking up and being cheated on, but he was living with another woman throughout their relationship?! No wonder he was always all 'Let's stay your place tonight' and 'I think I am going to turn in early' at 8 in the evening. She found herself becoming angry again.

She walked up to him and punched him in the nose. His nose began bleeding, he had not expected that but he supposed he deserved it. he lost his balance and tripped over his own untied shoes.

"Ronald Billius Weasley! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE BEFORE I HEX YOU INTO NEXT YEAR! GO BACK HOME TO YOUR BLOODY SLAG! I DO NOT HOPE YOU HAVE A NICE LIFE, IN FACT I HOPE EVERYTHING BAD THAT HAPPENS TO YOU, IS TEN FOLD! BECAUSE RIGHT NOW I WILL NOT EVER FORGIVE YOU!"

She stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind her to be greeted with a group of friends who instead of staring at her tear streaked face were cleaning up the dinner they just had. Ginny knew that her friend wouldn't want to tackle this big of a mess after the exhaustion of having to deal with her brother. Who was an even larger mess than the pasta in the kitchen.

Before Hermione had punched Ron, he had lifted the silencing charm and so everyone outside heard the last bit of the conversation. They wouldn't tell her that though, it was none of their business but all of the Slytherins in the house had a hard time not protecting Hermione. She might as well have been Pansy's sister and she was seething. But she wore a mask to hide those feelings. She would get back at the weasel for hurting her best friend _and_ she would add ruining a beautiful birthday party to top it all off.

Theo wanted to punch the weasel in his face. The sound of thuds and Ow's being echoed through the hall caught everyone's attention, but frankly they all hoped Hermione had broken bones.

Finally after a few moments, Ronald Weasley walked in sporting a rather bloody nose and a shirt that said she had gotten him where it counts. With his head held back he ran into the door frame again and with another defeated 'Ow' he gave up and dropped the hand that was holding his nose and slumped his shoulders. He knew that nothing he said would ever change what he had done.

"Hermione, I know nothing I say will change anything I have done. I want you to know this is not your fault. This is all on me; I didn't realize the problems we were having until after Lav and I started being more of something together. And I know you realized it also, in fact I am sure you think about it often. You are a smart woman Hermione and I am not a completely stupid bloke. I know that brain of yours doesn't shut off. I was stupid and I hate that I hurt you, and I am so sorry I couldn't see past my prejudices to be around you and your friends. There is nothing that excuses my behavior. I am still not thrilled about bloody Malfoy but know that I have always loved you and will always love you. I have one last favor to ask you before I leave until you ask me to come around again. Not as lovers but as friends."

"You are not exactly in a position for requests Weasley" barked Theo. And Pansy beamed at him because to her, he was sexy as hell when he stood up for anyone.

"Then could someone please just help me with my nose? I only want it to stop bleeding, you don't have to episkey it or anything just get it to stop bleeding so I can clean off my clothes before I go home."

"Ugh, shut up already I will do it." Ginny had a look on her face that would terrify even Tom Riddle.

"Gin I real-"

"Episkey!" she smiled wide and felt proud of herself.

Ron cried out in pain, and he deserved it. Everyone stifled a laugh aside from Hermione and surprisingly Draco. He had felt the wrath of both Hermione's punch and Ginny's unkind hexes when she was angry and he didn't find it the least bit funny.

"Now, go home and don't talk to MY best friend until you have straightened out. And don't you dare bring Lavender to Sunday dinner. She will be most UN-welcome!" Ginny's outburst surprised everyone except Harry. He knew how Ginny had felt about Lavender back in school and that had not changed since then.

Ron walked away with tears in his eyes, he knew he had messed up and he hated that he had hurt his best friend. He was on his own with this one.

When he apparated home what he saw was not what he had expected.

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Hey y'all I am so sorry for the delay, I am still here. I have been going through some stuff lately and haven't had much will to write lately, or honestly even read or draw.

I haven't spoken to my beta lately so hopefully she is okay. So I hope this is a good chapter. I know it is short but I thought this would be a good place to end it. I plan on getting another chapter out in a week or so. Thank you for everyone who has followed my story and continues to read it.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: That was not what I expected….

A high pitched squeak filled the room as Ronald Weasley walked in on none other than George and his wife Angela on his couch making out while some muggle movie played in the background. "What are you doing here George?" Ron asked with a lot of confusion "-and how did you get into my house?" Ron crossed his arms and gave his brother and his wife a disapproving look that would make Molly Weasley proud.

"Well, we didn't expect you to be home for a while since you were out with Hermione and all of her crowd. What happened to you?" it took him a minute to realize that Ron's shirt was covered in blood and his face was red with puffy stormy blue eyes. "Have you been crying?" judging by his silence that was a yes and George knew that his brother needed to talk to someone even if it wasn't him.

"I asked you a question George, why are you and Angela in my house?"

"Oh yeah, well we just needed to get away for a bit. You know the kids are driving us crazy and mum well she isn't any better. You had said a while back you didn't mind if we ever just popped in so we did."

"I also said to make sure I knew you were coming so I didn't just pop back home and catch you two doing what it looked like you were about to do." the three of them blushed a little bit realizing the implications that were just made in that very small but very large sentence. "Sorry mate, I wasn't thinking when we apparated here. We just wanted to get away from a very angry and screaming Fred Jr. so we left him with mum and left immediately."

"Oh, I suppose I will forgive you this one time. Just take it to the bedroom will you? the guest one not my bedroom. George?"

"Yeah?"

"Could I talk to you in the morning? I need someone to talk to and Harry won't be available for a while I don't think."

"Merlin Ronald what did you do?" George nodded towards his wife to let her know he would be just a minute and she kissed his cheek and said she would run home really quick for a change of clothes and other items they needed and with a pop she was gone, leaving George and Ron to talk about the reason his brother came home looking like he had just been mugged for the Elder Wand.

After setting the table with some tea, something Ron only did when he was either nervous or had done something very wrong.

"I – I messed up George and I know I can't fix it."

"It can't be so bad that Hermione can't fix it, that witch is too smart for her own good."

Ron winced at the words that just fell out of George's mouth and wished he had not ever done what he was about to confess to. He would have been able to handle talking to Harry about this but with the current situation he knew that he wouldn't get that luxury for a while, especially if Ginny had anything to say about it.

"Actually, I know she can't fix it because it was something I did TO her. I-I oh for Merlin's sake I cheated on Hermione with Lavender Brown..and Lav has been in and out of this apartment over the past year or so. It started out innocently with coffee now and then and now it has turned into more of a 'we are together but we aren't together'. I fucked up George. I really fucked up. I can't fix it and Hermione found out tonight and when I made a rather crude comment to her I got socked in the nose. She really does have quite a punch for being so small. What was worse everyone was there, her friends our friends; even bloody Malfoy was there. He hung out with her today and helped her prepare for tonight's festivities. I was kind of jealous but then I remembered I couldn't possibly be jealous when I was being a right arse to her by cheating on her just because she wouldn't give it up to me. I should know she wants something to be traditional considering she won't have much of it with her parents not being around you know?"

George really didn't know what to say, if Ron had told him before he had gotten punched in the face then he would probably have done the same thing on Hermione's behalf. She didn't deserve that, Angela had told George that even though she wasn't a virgin, she had wanted to wait for them to go all the way until after their wedding night and although it was really hard, he completely understood. She had been dumped once after she had given it up to a guy during her time at Hogwarts and it broke her heart. Although according to Ron Hermione was a virgin, George knew a little more than Ron did on her reasons why she didn't want to sleep with him yet. Waiting because of tradition was only half of it.

"Well then, you deserved what you got Ron. You know I won't sugar coat anything for the sake of your feelings. But how dare you hurt her that way, she is like a sister to me and you messed her over! I cannot believe you could be so cold. She gave everything to you Ron, well almost everything. She has her reasons for things Ron and if you honestly thought it was entirely due to tradition you are daft brother. Extremely daft; I will always choose family over friends but in this case I have to side with her. I will not be angry at you for your stupidity but you had better fix this even if it is only a friendship. And you will not tell mum of your transgressions just yet. She was practically planning your wedding with 'Mione. You will have to tell her gently and be prepared for serious repercussions from our mother. Ginny gets her temper from her side of the family. That is all I will say, I will get the blood out of your clothes and be there for you brother, but I have never been more disappointed." He started to walk to get his wand "One more thing Ronald" he gulped and looked at his brother. If looks could kill then he would have just been murdered in his home with unforgivable. "Don't you DARE bring that slag around for Sunday dinner or near our family." Ron's shoulders dropped, he nodded his head and stared at the floor. "Yes sir" he had never been so defeated, he took off his shirt and let George clean it up in silence and then went to his room, closed the door and sunk into his bed. He buried his head into his pillow and silently sobbed, knowing that the turn of tonight's events would be change everything in his life. What was worse? It was completely his fault.

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Harry approached Hermione with caution, he knew that she could be explosive. "Ginny and I are going to go and give you time to process. Are you going to be okay?" she looked at him with tears in her eyes that confirmed she wasn't. "I am not right now, but I will be Harry. Go on you have to get home for an early start tomorrow. I will floo you tomorrow. Goodnight Ginny. thank you all for coming. Pans I am so sorry about all of this, this day was supposed to be about you and make you feel like the most amazing woman in the world!"

Pansy hugged Hermione tightly with her own tears in her eyes. "Tonight was absolutely beautiful Mione! Thank you for everything you made it magical." She pulled away a little and looked at Her best friend. "I could not have asked for something more amazing! You brought back Draco, you made an amazing dinner, and then a very eventful game of never have I ever! It was brilliant Hermione!" that helped ease her stomach a little, she was beginning to worry the whole night was ruined.

"Now if you all will excuse us, I have one more thing planned for Pans back home and if we are late well we might miss the opportunity." Theo said with a knowing smirk on his face. And with that everyone left out the front door.

Hermione turned around throwing her hair up in a pony-tail making her way to bedroom to change.

A minute later she came out with jeans and simple tshirt that she didn't mind if it got dirty. After a night like tonight she would clean up the muggle way, because it was more relaxing than just letting magic take care of it.

"Oh Draco! I didn't realize you were still here" she had walked into her kitchen to find that Draco was already doing most of the cleanup and she was impressed. "I didn't want to leave you with such a mess to clean up. I know everyone is friends and all but leaving a host with such a mess is frowned upon by me. My mother always made sure when friends came over that EVERYONE helped clean up afterwards. If you would rather I leave I can, but I thought after that fiasco you would want to sit down and have a nice glass of wine and maybe yell at your favorite ferret." He said it all with a smile and then the last bit with a smirk, she really was enjoying his company. "Oh alright, I suppose since you twisted my arm." She laughed as she sat on the stool in front of the granite bar. "I did no such thing Ms. Granger, but if you insist on telling lies should I find Umbridge? I am sure she would be delighted to lend you her cursed quill!" he said this with almost a completely straight face as he sat her a glass of her favorite red wine down in front of her. They both laughed until they couldn't breathe. Merlin's Beard she needed this, just laughing and not thinking. It was nice to just be for a while.

"So, are we going to talk about the rather large Hippogriff in the room or shall we continue with silly banter?"

She groaned as she took another gulp of her wine. "If we are going to talk about this, then I am going to need more of this." She said shaking her glass.

"Fine with me, I will finish cleaning up and I will not speak unless you ask my specific opinion." He smiled at her and placed the already half empty bottle down on the counter in front of her. "Now start from the beginning."

"I honestly don't even know when that is. We have had our ups and downs like most couples, but I never thought he would cheat on me. It hurt Draco, the minute that he had that blank stare I knew. I mean honestly what woman expects a man to stay faithful when she doesn't give him a reason to stick around? Did you know I didn't want to have sex with him? That is why he started seeing that slag! She would give him anything if she could and everything I couldn't. They deserve one another honestly, I might be considered the brightest witch of our age but I have never felt so stupid! What man doesn't look at another woman when the one they are with doesn't give them anything. We slept in the same bed for Salazar's sake but never fooled around more than a grope here and there. *hiccup* oh my God! I am so sorry Draco, this is too much information for you." She was reddening a little as she spoke and he couldn't tell if it was because of the wine or because she was embarrassed by her words.

"Hermione Granger, don't you dare apologize for speaking your mind. You clearly have a lot to say and haven't been able to talk about it with anyone. That in itself speaks volumes, everyone needs that outlet. Theo and Blaise are mine and I am Pansy's or was before we stopped really speaking. You cannot go on holding it in, besides I imagine your logic for not talking to Ginny about all of this is because it is her brother, and you don't talk to Harry because it is his best friend. So who do you speak to about it?"

"Well sometimes, I suppose I let out bits and pieces to Theo and Blaise when we are all hanging out, but usually only because they witnessed a tantrum and I have to come up with some blasted excuse for him. So I never really talk about how I am feeling no."

"You know you can talk to me about things. I don't mind listening, even if it might be a bit too much information. I used to listen to Pansy's too much information shoutings back in school and I promise they couldn't get much worse than that!" he laughed a little at the memories that poured through his mind.

"I appreciate all your help Draco, really I do. I am not sure what I would have done without the help. I won't talk your ear to bursting but I will take you up on that offer more."

"Now that we are done with the heavy thoughts of the evening would you like to have a cup of coffee with me and talk more about the things that you can make fun of me for not knowing?"

With her hand placed gently on her heart and a mock gasp of horror "I would NEVER make fun of the great Draco Malfoy!" she laughed at herself and proceeded to walk to the couch in the living area. He followed behind with a tray of mugs and coffee as well as some extra cakes left over from the party.

"Now Hermione tell me, what is your favorite type of tea?"

"You can ask me just nearly anything right now and your choice is to ask about tea? Always SUCH a gentleman." She said the last bit with a little sarcasm but she was having fun and that was everything she needed at the moment. "My favorite tea is chamomile"

"Any particular reason why?" Draco asked, hoping he wasn't treading on thin ice with that seemingly innocent question.

"My mum used to make it for me when I was little. Anytime we had big talks she would make us a cup of it because it was calming. She would always add just a teaspoon of honey and a little bit of lemon." Draco could see the twinkling of tears dancing in her chocolate orbs. "I miss them you know. They wouldn't talk with me. They knew I used magic on them without their consent and didn't ever talk to me until they found out that they both had cancer. My dad was already at stage 4 by the time they caught it and my mum was at stage 3. My mum passed shortly after my dad. I won't ever get to tell them how sorry I am for doing what I did to them. I just wanted them safe."

Hermione paused a minute and looked up realizing she was talking heavy again "Oh no! I am sorry again! I didn't mean to slither into the heavy again, I get this way when I drink too much. I know you don't like hearing about the war and the aftermath of it. I also know that my parents are not for good conversation!"

"Hermione, How many people know about your parents?" he asked this question with more caution knowing it could lead to an outburst or she could yell at him to get out.

"let's see including you? Four people, me, you, Pansy, and the doctor that pronounced them dead." She thought before speaking again "Sad isn't it? Brightest witch of our age and I couldn't even talk to my parents."

"You can't very well beat yourself up over something you had no control over Granger. Self-pity doesn't suit you, and I know you miss them but you also cannot blame yourself. You haven't told anyone about your parents? Not really anyway you have to let it out." she thought to herself for a moment and her body started moving without her consent and before she knew it she was wrapping Draco in a rib crushing hug and sobbing. He had been the only one to think about her when it came to her parents. Nobody had asked her how she was doing, except maybe Pansy but she never really knew what to say.

After a good 15 minutes of terribly ugly sobbing Draco shifted Hermione onto his lap, she seemed to have succumbed to sniffles and light shaky breaths. He was cradling her like her a small child, she fit very well and she wasn't very heavy and he noticed then that she was thinner than he had originally thought. She maneuvered herself to sit to the side of him on the couch staring into the fire that was blazing in front of them. She looked at the clock and it read 2:30am but she didn't mind. She didn't want to be alone at this moment and she just wanted to feel safe for a while. After a few moments her eyelids got heavy and she was slowly drifting to sleep. The warm arm wrapped around her shoulder held her tight and didn't let go.

"Hermione, can I ask you another question before you fall all the way asleep?"

"Mm?" was the last thing she remembered before dreams of her family started to play in her mind.

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Hey everyone! Thank you still for following this fiction. I am having a lot of fun writing it. What do you think the next question will be? Don't worry we still are not quiet to where the Dramione really begins. There are at least 4-6 more chapter before that happens. At this point I am wanting to build some friendship! A trustworthy one. remember this is a slow burn!

Thank you to every who has reviewed my story, let me know what you all are thinking so far! Critiquing is more than welcome! Please let me know!

Have a great rest of your week! I look forward to posting the next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Questions Continue

Hermione woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly warm. Considering she had fallen asleep in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. As she went to stretch she realized that someone had covered her up, and she had a note on the coffee table in front of her with very fine elegant writing.

 _ **Hermione,**_

 _ **You fell asleep last night after letting out some feelings.**_

 _ **I didn't want to chance waking you so I covered you up before I left around 4 this morning.**_

 _ **If you wake before noon, I was wondering if you would like to have breakfast.**_

 _ **Sincerely,**_

 _ **Ferret**_

Hermione glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed it was only 9am. She had not slept all day so she would be able to meet Draco if he was still up for it. She got up and stretched again, grabbed some spare parchment and a pen instead of a quill and wrote Draco back. After a quick response she went and started to get ready for her day and for the first time in a long time she smiled a genuine smile knowing she was beginning a friendship with someone who once thought her to be nothing but dirty blood.

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Draco woke the next morning to a tapping on the window, he knew immediately that it was a response to his letter. While he knew that they were not living in the wizarding world he still liked that they were able to communicate by owl. Nobody looked at owls like the wizarding world did.

He opened his window and let the owl in, the breeze caught him by surprise. It was cold and bitter. He gave the owl a treat and retrieved the note that was tied to his leg and told the owl he could stay for a moment if he wished.

As he opened the note he chuckled a bit at the first line.

 _Good Morning Ferret,_

 _I in fact did wake up early enough for breakfast; and would like to accept your invitation._

 _Let me freshen up here and I will be ready in about thirty minutes._

 _Sincerely,_

 _The Insufferable Know It All_

 _P.S_

 _Thank you for covering me last night._

As he read the last line; he felt his stomach flutter for just a second. Strange, he thought to himself. He was still thinking of the question that he had asked but still had not received an answer for. He knew it was heavy, but of all the people in the world why had she told HIM about her parents. Harry Potter was her best friend and here she was admitting things to him she hadn't even told Harry.

 ***Flashback***

" _Hermione, can I ask you a question before you fall asleep?"_

" _Mmm?"_

" _Why have you trusted me of all people with such fragile information regarding your parents?"_

 _In her mind she was thinking. She honestly had no idea why she had just trusted him with such vital information about her life. They only had been around one another a day and already she was feeling like she had known him like this her whole life. She had never had that connection with anyone. It was like he was her best friend already for years and they could talk about anything. But she was logical, she knew that they were not the best of friends after only a day and with all these thoughts reeling in her mind it was exhausting. With that she had fallen asleep and didn't even remember the reason she was having these thoughts. All she knew she was comfortable under the warm arm draped over her hip and the sound of the cackling fire in front of her and drifted off to sleep._

 ***End Flashback***

Hopefully she wouldn't remember that he had asked a question.

Looking at the clock he realized he had already wasted at least 10 minutes staring at the parchment with more questions flooding his mind than answers and he needed to get ready. She didn't say a place to meet so he assumed picking her up would be best and they could walk from her flat.

He showered and took a little more time than usual. He had not been to breakfast in a long time with anyone other than himself and he wasn't entirely sure what to wear or how to act. He just wanted to make sure that Hermione was okay after her many confessions last night. Truth was he knew how to use most muggle things but Hermione had given him a chance to learn and was also willing to give him a chance, all he has ever wanted was a chance. He didn't want to lie to her so he knew he had to tell her the truth, he couldn't just let his friendship start with a lie. No he had to be honest and he would tell her today.

He only had 10 minutes left before he was late and Malfoys were never late. In his haste to leave, he didn't realize he forgot to put the glamour charm on his arm.

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She only had 10 minutes, she paced her bedroom looking at all the clothes that were strewn across the floor in an effort to match some kind of outfit that said this was just breakfast not a date. She finally decided on a pair of black skinny jeans, and a simple V-Neck periwinkle long sleeved shirt and some black and white converse. She hoped it wasn't too casual, they had not really discussed where they were going yet but she had decided what she was wearing would be acceptable in most places this early in the morning. A few moments later there was a light knock on the door and she knew it was too late to change her mind.

Memories flooded her mind as she walked to open the door; she had told him some secrets that she had not told anyone else. She had opened up to her old child hood enemy. She had fallen asleep in Draco's side on the couch and had answered a question she probably shouldn't have. And then the note this morning. She was beginning to panic; hopefully he didn't ask her questions about last night. Not paying attention she tripped with a loud thud followed by 'oomph'. She had tripped over her own feet and crashed into the hardwood floor.

"Hermione, are you okay?"

She got up and called out "Fine! Just being clumsy ol' me and tripping over my own feet." She heard a chuckle as she reached for the door knob and opened the door but looking down to make sure she had not ripped her jeans. "It is not funny" she laughed.

"Then why are you laughing?" he jested back. After wiping off her jeans of any dirt that may be stuck on her she looked up and started to roll her eyes. But was stunned to see that in front of her was Draco Malfoy in his muggle clothes, a red shirt with another pair of dark blue jeans and since it was cold outside he was wearing a very nice black double breasted Phoenix Solbiati coat lined with wool. It looked very warm, it looked very familiar also. He snapped a little to gain her attention, with that she was pulled back into the present as a small blush crept across her face and with a smile because she was embarrassed. She moved to the side to let him in.

"Sorry for staring; I wasn't trying to be rude. Your choice of wardrobe just caught me by surprise is all." She said taking his coat. When it was removed something was different, she had not noticed the intricate colors and lines on his left forearm the evening before. But how do you miss that? How did she miss that Draco Malfoy had tattoos? What was that about? She stared for a little longer than she meant to.

"How did I miss this." she said moving closer to take a better look. He held out his arm and she gently took his hand and pulled him closer. She wanted to see every single detail. "It is called a glamour charm Hermione." His light laughter told her that he was not offended.

"it's okay" he said giving her the green light to touch his skin "Not many know about them and today I rushed out and forgot to put one on. I got them to help cover the dark mark. Since I can't exactly get it covered up, I add onto it the muggle way. And after Voldemort I refuse to get a tattoo by way of magic ever again. And most muggles love the skull and snake tattoos. It helped me cope some whenever I left. This is something my father will _**NOT**_ hear about." She laughed at his backwards use of his old saying from school.

"Well whoever did this for you did an amazing job." She traced the bold lines on his forearm lightly with her fingers. A phoenix that had uncanny similarities to Fawkes sat with spread wings just above the mark, under the mark three wands connected at the tips to form a triangle and a time turner in the middle to represent the stone and finally using the snake from the dark mark as the middle representing what would be the elder wand. He had turned this mark of hate into a mark of complete beauty. The artist had gotten all the colors right, down to the yellow at the bottom of his tail. "I don't have everything on it I want just yet but it's a start to covering my scars none the less."

"Did you come up with the design?" she asked half hoping he had. It would make it that much more special.

"I did actually; everything in this tattoo has meaning to me. And to everyone else it means nothing. I am currently the only one in the muggle world with this on my body and I couldn't be more proud of it. But my job doesn't allow tattoos to be visible so I often have to wear long sleeves or suit jackets. Which is fine, but I am becoming more comfortable with it and I want people to see it. I wasn't trying to show it off today, I just got into too big of a hurry this morning coming over here I forgot to cover it. But now that you have seen it I don't mind.

After a few moments she thought to herself, his arm was beautiful and she was suddenly not feeling so crazy about what she had done with her own scars. "I have one started on my forearm to cover the scarring caused by Bellatrix." She lifted her sleeve to show him the elaborate colors that were on her arm. They contrasted beautifully with her skin tone. It did not escape him that of course she had gotten books and such on herself; which made him laugh softly to himself. Around the tattoo laced the words _'I have survived a thousand times'_. Judging by the argument last night, it made more sense why she and the weasel had not done anything in the bedroom other than sleep in a bed with no actual intimacy. She was embarrassed still by the scars from the war. As he was sure there was just more than one could see with the naked eye. He had hoped that one day they could maybe talk about the war without it bringing out such painful memories. Maybe they could help each other instead of hiding in the background hoping nobody saw their flinches at random flashes of light, or the jumps at the sounds from the construction down the road.

"Draco, are you alright?" she had noticed they had switched places and now he was the one staring.

"Sorry, I was admiring the colors. I never would have expected to see the day Hermione Granger had a tattoo. I imagine that is why you wear long sleeves and use a glamour charm also?" she nodded at him as she pulled her sleeve down to once again to hide the books that covered the traumatic word on her arm.

"My you are observant." She placed her hand over her mouth and laughed a little bit "I will get my jumper and we can go. Judging by your choice of attire it is chilly out." she bounced off to her coat closet and pulled out a red coat that looked eerily similar to his own. "You have excellent taste I see." She tilted her head to the side it took her a minute to realize what he had meant. "Oh! Yes, Harry and Ginny got it for me for my birthday last year. I had told them I saw it in the window of a store one day and Gin knew the exact place I was talking about. I love it! But it must have been awfully expensive if you have one just like it. Because we all know that you cannot have anything except the best of everything." she did a very Slytherin like smirk as she put her jacket on.

"Well then, it is nearly brunch time. Where would you like to go Hermione?"

She thought for a moment, she did love eggs benedict and a mimosa would be lovely. "I know a place and if we leave now we can make it there just before they start serving brunch. Do you mind a walk? I love to walk in the brisk air." Her eyes lit up at the idea and he just couldn't find it in himself to say no. So he charmed his coat to keep him warm ushered her to the door and they walked out into the morning air feeling even more comfortable with each other than they had expected.

As they started to walk Hermione looked at Draco "Sooo, about last night…"

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Thank you for all the reviews y'all. I am getting really excited where this is going!

As always let me know what you think.

Have a great weekend ;)


	8. Chapter 8

Hi! I am back, I apologize for not getting this out sooner. I have been so busy and haven't had much of a chance to write, but I also have had a stint with Writers Block! *LAME!* so here is chapter 8!

Like I have said in the past I am still new to this, and am trying to keep everything going at a reasonable rate. So leave me your genuine thoughts

A quick thank you to those who have reviewed and kept me motivated in my writing: Aslon, iamthek, James Birdsong, Meg, snowblind12, and BirdsOfAFeather92 thank you thank you thank you all so much for your reviews and critiques.

Chapter 8: Dinner?

"….Draco I am so sorry for everything I said to you. I had a little more wine than I thought I had and I completely unloaded everything on you. You probably had little to no idea what do or how to react and I ju-"

She was cut off in the middle of her sentence by a slightly cold finger pressed on her quivering lips, this was an attempt to get her to calm down and stop talking.

"Hermione, first of all don't ever apologize for letting out what you are feeling. Secondly, I honestly was just listening because you seemed to need to let it all out. I was not going to bring it up unless you wanted to talk about it. You have absolutely nothing to apologize for."

Hermione stopped thinking for only a moment before she suddenly felt the need to apologize for apologizing but Draco beat her to the thought first.

"Also, don't apologize for apologizing. There is no need to do so."

Again she was not proud of how completely vulnerable she felt and she couldn't shake the thought that Draco was able to read her like one of the books on her arm so easily.

"Well then, if you refuse to let me apologize. Then the least you can do is let a girl share how grateful she is." It was not a question and Draco feared he might be fighting a losing battle if he tried to tell her no.

"Fine" he said with a hint of sarcasm and a little bit of smirk tugging on his lips.

"Thank you for being a human being last night. I realize that is a sort of odd thing to say. But I have tried to voice how I have felt regarding mine and Ron's situation to Harry and Ginny. And while they understand where I am coming from they are obligated by friendship and blood to lean more on Ronald's side of things. Last night you were not Malfoy, you were not an old school yard nemesis. You were my friend, someone who listened without judgment and I truly appreciate it. It actually felt really good to let it out. After the initial shock I found myself in this morning hoping I didn't say too much and scare you away, I was fine."

Hermione stopped and held out her left hand in an attempt to shake Draco's hand. He was kind of surprised by the gesture. It was such a masculine gesture, he could run from his parents all he wanted but the manners they had pounded in his head was very much still embedded in his daily life. Ladies held their hands so the gentleman could kiss the knuckles lightly. Women did not shake hands.

He gently took her left hand in his right and turned it where her knuckles would be facing up. He laughed a bit at her sleeve that was a little larger on her slim arm and wrist, it covered her knuckles slightly and he lightly tugged the fabric down just enough to bare her hand and brushed an innocent and feather light kiss on her cool hand.

Hermione blushed a bit at the intimate yet gentlemanly touch. He had just kissed her knuckles and she was floored. Not that it was a bad thing, but it made it difficult to calm her nerves a bit. She and Draco were friends. She didn't want to ruin another friendship because of a relationship that was sure to go awry. She had to think logically, she and Ronald had just broken up the evening before and she was already trying to think of ways to not think of Draco like that.

He slowly let go of her hand and was about to begin walking again when it occurred to him that he had no idea where they were!

"Where exactly are we going?" he asked, there was a slight hint of fear in his voice.

"Oh, breakfast yes." Hermione was snapped back to reality when he spoke.

She began walking again and informed him it was not much further.

They walked for another 15 minutes in complete silence. No sound was present except for the whistles of the wind. If they had not known that magic existed then they would say that right now the weather and beauty of the morning was as close to magic as it could get.

Finally they arrived at their destination, a quaint little coffee shop that had an advertisement for breakfast and lunch; it smelled of lattes, eggs, and bacon and it was the most heavenly smell that seemed to wash over them as they both took in deep breaths.

"Well, here we are. This is my favorite place for brunch. Anytime I get the chance this is where I come and I am so excit-"

Hermione stopped midsentence and gave Draco a look that told him she was embarrassed although he wasn't entirely sure why. Her cheeks went pink and her eyes brimmed with tears and suddenly it hit him. She felt like she was babbling, and when she and Ron were together she always spoke of things and he would roll his eyes but listen anyways. He didn't understand why she would get so upset but then again, anything that reminded her of her very recent relationship failure would be enough to make anyone start to lose it. Even the brightest witch of their age had a limit and he was sure she had reached it.

"Hermione, you know I don't mind you talking. If anything it helps me not have to say anything to embarrass myself and you know I will." He laughed a little at the end of that sentence so she would know he was kidding.

"No, it's not that it's just I go on and on and babble and it tends to irritate everyone. And when Ron and I were together, sure he would get annoyed when I turned all know it all on him but he still listened and when I was talking I almost called you Ron because we had made plans to come here we just never did. He always had some excuse, now I know it was more or less so he could be with that slag."

She was getting worked up and she didn't need to. What she needed was a friend, and one that would understand that she didn't want more than just friendship right now. He needed to let her know it was okay to be herself right now. And it was also okay to be not okay.

"Well how about we get brunch to take back to one of our places and instead of being in these awfully fitted clothes we get into something much more comfortable and do nothing but be children today." He smiled and her cheeks gained the usual pink tint they held and her eyes brimmed with a twinkle instead of the tears that threatened to fall.

She shook her head and they walked into the café and bought their brunch and then made their way back to Hermione's flat.

During lunch Hermione started to tear up once again. She would miss what she and Ron once had, and she would miss his family. Godric knew that his family would be less accepting of her now.

"Draco, would you mind terribly if I asked if we could continue hanging out on another day? I feel like I may not be good company in my current situation and would like to be alone for a little while."

He saw the look in her eyes that said she was fearful he would get upset. This was certainly not the Hermione Granger he knew back in school. She must be going through more pain than he originally thought.

"Hermione, you can take all the time you need. You and I can get together some time for drinks or something next week. Or you just call or text me when you are ready."

With that he cleaned up after they ate and she walked him to the fireplace so he could get home.

1 WEEK LATER

Draco was at work when he received the message he didn't think would ever come.

 _ **Draco, I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner and drinks say 7pm at The Anchor & Hope? **_

_**-Hermione**_

Of course he wouldn't say no to that. it was his favorite pub in London. He quickly replied and smiled.

"Mr. Malfoy, there is a gentleman here. He says you and him have a meeting? Although I don't see it on my calendar."

She whispered the last bit so not to sound rude.

"It is fine Lucy, let him in."

He was met with emerald eyes and raven black hair.

"Hello Malfoy"

"Mr. Potter, how can I help you this afternoon" he closed the door behind him. And warded it so they wouldn't be interrupted and nobody could hear their conversation.

Harry sat down gently on the chair in front of Draco's desk.

"What can I help you with Potter?" he asked gently as he took his seat in front of Harry.

"I need to know what your intentions are with Hermione"

"My intentions are none of your business, but since you are the girl's best friend I will tell you."

Harry looked shocked. "You actually have intentions?"

"Don't worry Potter, I don't have intentions of trying to get into her knickers just to leave her behind. And Hermione is not a slag so I doubt she would even think about that."

"You're probably right. I don't always give her enough credit. I think of her like a sister and sometimes I feel like she needs protecting." He raked his left hand through his air and sighed. "Continue"

"My intentions Potter, are simply to be her friend. Right now she is vulnerable and I wouldn't want to take advantage of that. She is also extremely kind, which I refuse to take advantage of that also. But she is a loyal friend who will tell you what you need to hear not what you want to hear. I also will just let you know now that I have had eyes for Hermione since second year and even though I was a total git to her she has seen fit to give me a chance to prove myself. I found her adorable back then, and then we all grew up and she was ruthless. I fell in love with her far earlier than I intended but I had to keep myself and my family safe. I plan on being her friend until she says she wants more. If all she ever wants is a friendship then so be it. I will not pursue any other kind of relationship with her. Does that answer your question?"

Again Harry sat shocked. Malfoy had just admitted to being in love with his best friend for far longer than he had thought. Sure he knew that Draco had eyes for Hermione. Anyone who paid any attention could see that had sorrow in his eyes every time he had to use the filthy words that spilled from his mouth; everyone except for his family and Voldemort.

"Harry"

He was snapped back to the now by his first name being called.

"Sorry, okay well that was more admittance than I had originally expected. But I appreciate your honesty. Hermione needs someone who will be reliable and not selfish. She already had someone who didn't completely appreciate her wit, and her love for the finer things. She may be tough Draco but she is still delicate in many ways. I will give you this chance, but if you break her heart not even dark magic will help you escape." He threatened him and Draco while he didn't seem to be at all intimidated shook his head and held out his left hand to shake Harry's.

"I don't intend to hurt her Harry; I only want the best for her. She deserves to know that she is not too smart or to feel like she is less than beautiful. Also, just so you are aware. She and I are having dinner and drinks this evening."

Harry smiled knowing that he had made a good choice to come here today. While everyone else was skeptical of Draco, Harry trusted Hermione's judgment and was more than happy to listen to her talk about the time they had spent together. It was the first time he had seen her fired up about anything other than a new book in ages. Something must have sparked that fuse again and it was slowly burning. He only hoped that it wouldn't be put out this time.

"Oh yes, she told me she was going to ask you this week. She felt bad how she had asked you to leave her flat last week. Of course I told her you probably understood but you know how she is or you will learn."

"Right of course she told you. Well, thank you stopping by Mr. Potter." Draco lifted the wards and made it sound like a very important meeting.

As Draco opened the door he spoke "I will call you tomorrow and let you know about this evenings meeting and how it went."

Lucy's face shined bright red as she frantically searched her calendar for the evening's meetings and found nothing.

"Don't worry about it Lucy, you have done nothing wrong I assure you. Mr. Potter showed up unannounced on a day I happen to not have any meetings. And this evening I am meeting with a friend of his for some questions she has regarding her finances. He was simply asking if I had time to meet her this evening."

She visibly relaxed "Oh thank heavens, I thought I was beginning to become forgetful in my old age!"

"Oh no, you could never be old Lucy! In fact, take an early evening. The meeting I have is in about 45 minutes and I need to go home and get changed. It is a casual meeting after all." He said as he drew attention to his expensive suit.

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1 hour later

"Hermione! I am so sorry; I got caught up looking at paperwork! I know I am late."

He leaned down and kissed her forhead with polite greeting.

She blushed and decided it was okay.

"Oh Draco, don't be silly, you don't have to lie. You and I both know you spent the extra fifteen minutes being vain in the mirror practicing how you would talk." he laughed a little bit but noticed the dark circles under her eyes and lack of proper posture she had been having a hellish week.

"Well not everyone can have witty comebacks all the time. I had to prepare myself, and it seems it was right to do so." He laughed as he sat down.

"Sorry to text you out of the blue, but I had said I would text you regarding a later rendez vous. And I had been so caught up with work and not sleeping that I had completely forgotten."

"Hermione, It is fine. honestly I didn't expect you to talk to me at all. I knew you had a lot on your mind and I wasn't going to start acting like my 10 year old self again just because I didn't hear from you in a day."

She smiled at him secretly thankful for his honesty.

After 15 minutes of looking over the new menu they ordered and started catching up on their week. It was Friday and they were able to splurge on the luxury of the evening. Not having to worry about work the next day was a nice change. They were so caught up in their moments that they barely noticed that the waiter had arrived with their meal. She patiently waited while they finished their discussion before she politely cut in.

"your dinner ma'am. Sir."

Taking in the smell of the shepherd's pie and broccoli cheese soup as well as Draco's fish and chips she smiled and had a nostalgic look on her face.

This must be a memory of sorts for her thought Draco.

They finished their meal and after shutting the place completely down by staying an hour past closing time. They were going to say goodnight but since they lived so close they continued talking all the way back to Hermione's flat.

"Well this is me. Thank you for tonight Draco. I had a better time than I had expected."

He smiled and raked his hand through his silky blonde hair. He was a little nervous, he didn't want to ruin the night.

"The pleasure is mine Hermione. Have a good evening."

He turned to walk away as she unlocked her door. Just before she closed the door to her flat he called out to her. "Hermione?"

She stopped

"Yes?"

"Would it be alright if we maybe have dinner again next Friday? He waited nervously for her answer.

"I would like that."

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Great! I will make sure it's on my calendar."

With that he turned on his heel and walked down the hallway. He felt like he was walking on cloud nine.

That night Hermione went to bed thinking of the evening that they had just shared and in the pit of her stomach flew the butterflies that hadn't subsided since he had said he would meet her for dinner. She was beginning to see what Pansy had meant when she said he wasn't that bad all the time.

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The next several weeks passed by in the blink of an eye. Filled will laughter and dinners. And they started having lunch at least twice a week with dinner on Monday and Friday nights. It had become extremely routine and yet completely unexpected. Theo, Pansy, Blaise and even Harry and Ginny joined them on occasion. Everyone was quick to notice how well Hermione and Draco were getting along. They placed their bets to how long it would be before they ended up becoming more than 'just friends'.

During this time, Ron had made himself scarce. Only being present by accident, he had been thoroughly warned by everyone in the group and outside of it. His brothers were angry with him for the way he treated Hermione and Lavender only is with him out of spite. He realizes it now, he was blinded by lust and he lost a great thing. His drinking had started to become worse but he was becoming a functioning alcoholic and he only hoped that nobody would find out about his secret. Everyone knew he drank but nobody knew how bad it had gotten. He regretted everything he ever did to Hermione, and he was sad and hoping she wasn't lonely. He knew that she and Draco were regularly hanging out but they couldn't really be the best of friends like everyone had said…. Could they?

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It was Saturday morning when Draco woke up to the sound of pecking at the window. He opened the window and shuttered at the chill that followed the familiar owl that Hermione had used to send him letters on occasion. He laughed; it was too early for this nonsense.

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Finally another chapter down! Several more to go, I promise I am trying to not move to quickly! But at the same time I am attempting to move things along, but in a realistic way. I know that sometimes friendships with former enemies takes time, but also I felt there was an unspoken understanding between everyone that they had forgiven those that had treated everyone with hate after the several years that passed. So I hope this is not too quick for some of you. Don't worry I am not forming a relationship just yet, but a friendship is more than present!

Let me know what you all think. And again thank you all for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

I hope you enjoy this one.

As always I don't own the characters, I merely like to play with the ending of the stories that I read.

Chapter 9: Rawr..I am Reptar?

 _ **Draco,**_

 _ **Today I have absolutely nothing planned and was wondering if you would like to accompany me to some breakfast? It is too early to be awake but I am starving!  
Try to let me know before I make it to your flat in 20 minutes! **_

_**-Hermione**_

 _ **P.S Time starts now!**_

He could almost hear the giggles that followed her letter. He decided to call her and let her know he was getting ready and would be waiting outside his door when she showed up.

After spending so much time together they had learned several of each other's quarks. Hermione while she enjoyed sleep had woken up extremely early for a Saturday..he couldn't help but laugh a little bit because he knew exactly why.

Right as he was walking out of his flat at almost exactly 20 minutes later on the dot Hermione sauntered up to Draco in the hallway.

"Thank you God! You are ready to go, as I said before I am famished!" Hermione spoke dramatically as she turned her back to him and pretended to faint into his arms.

"Well someone with bushy hair and brown eyes didn't really give me much of a choice did she?" he looked down and laughed as he pushed her back upright "Shall we go then Miss. I am going to wake up and see who I can irritate first? By the way, why are you waking me up at 7am on a Saturday to go eat breakfast? Don't you LIKE to sleep?" he was faking his irritation and grinning because he knew the reason she was waking him so early.

Hermione had figured out his eyes were his biggest tell. When he looked annoyed but was trying not to laugh he looked like he was squinting and his lips slightly turned up into a smile. She wouldn't tell him though, she liked knowing his tells and if she told he would certainly try to fix it!

"It so happens if you must know Mr. I can't help but say okay to anyone who bats their lashes at me. I do like my sleep; however, I was woken up because SOMEONE set my alarm for 5 this morning and never turned it off. Oh and that SOMEONE charmed it to not go off no matter how many times I hit the snooze button!" she pointed her finger at him and thumped his nose but only enough to make him feel it. She laughed and continued walking in the direction down the hall.

"Oh yeah? And who was this someone?" he feigned ignorance, they had started a pranking war between the two of them and he had to do something after what she pulled last week.

 _ ***FLASHBACK 1 WEEK BEFORE***_

 _ **Draco walks into work expecting a normal day. They had just finished closing a huge deal and he was really excited about it. He was also ready for a day to relax since he had already finished everything the evening before. It was Friday after all, why not spend it doing nothing but surfing the internet and talking to Hermione.**_

" _ **Good Morning Mr. Malfoy" Lucy as always greeted him with a warm smile although this morning she had a certain air around her. Like she knew something he didn't.**_

 _ **With a cautious look her direction then at his office then back at her he said "Good Morning Lucy. Is everything alright?"**_

" _ **Just splendid" she answered. She was even more giddy than usual which made Draco slightly worried about the next ten steps in front of him.**_

" _ **I will be in my office should you need me. Would you mind calling Hermione to confirm today's lunch plans?**_

" _ **I would be delighted to" she giggled**_

 _ **He walked into his office to find that he walked into a flower shop. His entire office was covered in flowers. Daisy', Roses, Dandelions, and petals showered the floor completely. In the middle of his office there stood a desk that looked like it had been covered in tiny eyes. She glued tiny googly eyes all over his desk! And on top of that his computer had a taupe of brown bushy hair and sitting at his desk was a skeleton wearing a complete suit with a letter attached to his hand.**_

 _ **He laughed a little at how she made it look like he was looking at a sexy skeleton lady in a bathing suit on the computer screen. This side of Granger he could get used to. Although he doesn't quite understand why she did this or better yet how she got into his office. It was a good thing he didn't have any meetings this afternoon. Otherwise this would take hours to clear out without magic. And the stares would be too much for him to handle.**_

 _ **He took the letter out of the hand of the skeleton sitting at his desk and read it.**_

 **Draco,**

 **Dear God man, do you ever not work!? Okay so I am initiating a prank war! Officially it is your turn, you have been far too stressed as of lately and I need you to stop being a ferret and play! Rules are there are no rules! So TAG YOU'RE IT!**

 **By the way see you today for lunch! Oh yes and thank Lucy for letting me in this morning while you were taking your time getting to work!**

 **GAME ON FERRET!**

 **P.S.**

 **Also I hope you know that your dear Lucy is a witch and caught on to you and I both. So she knows that I did this with magic. Don't worry, no rules were broken I made it known that I would be doing this to Harry and he not only was for it he helped! Along with Lucy, I have chosen my team, so choose yours wisely!**

 **Hermione~**

 _ ****End Flashback****_

"Oh please you know exactly who did that sir! I could strangle you if I wasn't in such a good mood right now." She slapped him on the arm and continued walking towards the end of the hallway to get to their destination.

They made it to their favorite restaurant and looked at the menu in silence. Hermione always looked at the menu like she was going to get something new but they both knew she couldn't stray from her eggs benedict, bacon and juice.

"Why do you even bother to look at that thing Hermione? You always get the same thing anyways."

He quipped over his own menu.

"You're one to talk, Mister I am going to get the same thing every time with the slight change of either coffee or juice and sausage or bacon." She laughed to herself and then sat her menu to the side.

"At least my order changes every now and then."

This friendly banter had become extremely easy for them. who knew that two completely opposite people could become so very close in such a short amount of time. If only they would have been able to be this way in school.

Draco often thought about the past and how much he wished he knew then what he knows now about muggles. If only someone had been honest about them and muggle-born witches and wizards. He could have maybe had a friendship with Potter and Hermione earlier on in life. Maybe Potter would have taken his friendship on the first day at Hogwarts and he would have been on a different side of the war. If he had been brought up differently he wouldn't have the ugly mark on his left forearm right now. He could never escape the ghosts that haunted his days and nights.

Hermione saw the change in his eyes and saw he was thinking of the past again; this was something he did when he thought he didn't deserve the friendship they were currently trying to build. Hermione knew he looked at his body in shame just as she did. Many people didn't know about her insecurities and she liked it that way. She would often look at herself in the mirror and trace the scars of her past and that included her heart. It had been what seemed like months since her and Ron were officially over and it still hurt every now and then but mostly when she remembered wishing she could be as transparent with him as she has been with Draco. She would be lying if she said she didn't think of him still. They don't talk unless they are in the same room and forced alone for a moment but that is rare. Draco has hung out with her most since that first meeting in the park. They had long forgotten about playing 20 Questions and moved into just having friendly chatter and good times. Her favorite thing he does is when she starts getting down he brings her right back up even if he is just as low as she is. The twinkle he has in his eyes when he brings a smile to people's faces is nothing short of a miracle. A few years ago she would have laughed if someone said he would be where he is now.

His fingers lightly brushing her arm brought her back from her thoughts.

"Hey, are you ready?"

"Mm? Oh yes, my usual if you please?"

The waitress was an older lady. Plump and had an uncanny resemblance to Molly Weasley, although her eyes seemed a little kinder. She has been the one to take their order every time they had been here and it made her laugh each time Hermione just said her usual.

"What about you handsome? Sausage or bacon today? Coffee or Juice?" she questioned

Hermione let out a snort and Draco turned to her and stuck out his tongue. She would have to tell him the meaning her family came up for that at a later date.

"Bacon and Coffee if you please Mrs. Lois."

"Always so polite this one, you have a good one Miss. Keep him around." she winked and walked away before Hermione had time to retort letting her know they were nothing more than friends. The blush that crept up her neck could have given a tomato a run for its money.

"So Hermione, would you like to tell me what is going through that brilliant brain of yours? Or are you wanting to talk about work?"

"Actually, I don't want to talk about work. It seems that is a topic for when you don't know what else to talk about and I believe we have come farther than that. Don't you?"

"Indeed we have my dear. So tell me, have you spoken to Ron lately? I know you have been thinking about him recently." He fidgeted with the silver wear in the dark red cloth on the table. He hated bringing up such a sore subject but Hermione has such a habit of not talking about things that it causes her to shut down and think of nothing else but negative.

"Actually I haven't spoken to him in two weeks? And even then it was in passing so it wasn't very formal. We were able to be civil but Lavender bounced up and it kind of ruined any chance we had at having a conversation. She really is a nasty little trap. You just don't see her coming and then the next thing you know she is cutting the circulation to your leg and won't let go and the more you struggle the tighter she gets. Much like Devils Snare. The only problem is she comes out in the sunlight."

She looked up with her face scrunched up. But her nose was becoming red and her honey brown eyes darkened. Tiny droplets fell from them and Draco knew this was going to be hard for her for a long time. He couldn't help but want to use his own brothers pranks against him for being so cruel to someone so genuine and trusting. She didn't deserve it.

"Mione' I just wa-" he was cut off by Lois who was bringing them their food.

"Here we are. Anything else for you dears?"

Hermione gave Draco a pleading look saying please don't make me talk right now.

"No thank you Lois, I think we have everything we need."

Lois looked at Hermione and then to Draco who mouthed that she was just missing someone close to her.

They were both thankful when she didn't press the subject.

They ate for a few moments in silence before Draco spoke.

"Hermione, I was going to say you know you can talk to me about this. I'm here to listen, I'm not the brightest bloke but I understand needing to let it out sometimes. You know what is said between us stays between us right?"

"Oh Draco, I hate when you and I are together and I get out of sorts. I prefer the pranks and good natured jokes between us instead of the heavy hurts that we carry. But I appreciate you being so understanding."

She gave him a smile that spoke volumes of how she felt at the current moment. While she wasn't thrilled that she just let out a great deal of emotion in front of Draco she was happy he didn't laugh or call her names for it. Which judging by his past he would almost expect her to expect that of him. But things were different now. Things were better. And He liked it this way.

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After they ate they decided to hang out the remainder of the day so Draco flooed home. He was gone for no more than an hour and he returned with at least fifteen buckets of ice cream, two store bags, and an old black and green blanket.

"What is that?!" Hermione asked with a slight giggle in her voice

"You will have to find out once I hand you the bag. found them and thought they would be perfect for today's festivities."

"And just what are today's festivities?" she asked still slightly laughing

"I already said we were going to be children and last time you sent me home so we are doing it now. Here, take this and go change I will use your loo and change there."

He thrusted a bag with red and gold tissue paper sticking out over the top. And just like that he was off into the loo with a grin stretched on his face that he did in fact look like a small child on Christmas morning. She laughed a little harder to herself at his childish act and walked to her room and closed the door.

Hermione decided against arguing, she knew he was being great because she was upset and he knew she was. He had no delusions of what they were, he wasn't trying to get into her pants. He was trying to make her smile and not wallow in self pitty. And damn it he was doing such a good job.

She opened the bag he handed her and pulled apart the paper to reveal a green and yellow onesie. She put it on and looked in her body length mirror to see that he got her measurements pretty spot on. Not tight enough to be inappropriate but not baggy enough to make her look ridiculous. She stood with her arms crossed in front of the mirror and laughed a little louder. This was becoming a regular thing today. She finally walked out of the room she was in and couldn't help but put her hand over her mouth to try and stifle the giggles that were about to escape her mouth.

In front of her stood a dragon; it had black horns on its back and its body was red. and what made it better is he was shaking his tail with the music he put on. And then the head fell off and she fake coughed and instead of stopping he turned around and continued dancing. Shaking his tail as 'Island In The Sun' was playing loudly through the apartment. He bounced over to her and took her hand and twirled her around as she laughed and completely let go of everything. She was genuinely smiling and having fun for at least 10 minutes before they stopped and fell on the pillows and blankets sprawled on the floor.

"Draco, where did you find these ridiculous pajamas?" she started to stop laughing but the smile and twinkle was still very much present.

"I went to the store to get some ice cream and I saw them out of the corner of my eye passing by a shop on the way home. I thought dragon onesies would be the best cure for a broken heart with some ice cream. I didn't know your favorite so I brought a variety." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she couldn't help but smile and then she turned her head and stared at the ceiling for a moment before speaking.

"Draco, I have to say you are fantastic at picking out my clothes. I mean I don't know if you know this but dragon onsies are the in fashion right now"

"of course I knew" he laughed "only the best for _my_ friends" he mocked a pompous rich man but it was hard to take him seriously with the plushy paw that covered his heart.

They both laughed "Well shall we model our new clothes? I mean we _must_ be ready for the runway show this afternoon."

He fell backwards laughing as she stood up and pretended to be on runway as she strutted in her living area. With hands on her hips she got a little sassy as she turned and wriggled her tail. Hers matched Draco's the only difference was the color! And he picked the perfect colors for her. Her favorite was the hood it had; with teeth that lined the opening of the hood and had plush paws for the hands. There were slippers also, to make her look like she had huge dragon like feet.

He laughed at her sudden behavior and ventured it was because she was still not ready to face the broken heart in her body and to keep her mind from thinking too much.

"Well, I am a Malfoy" he drawled, as he pointed his nose up and Only it fit him so well, and as he said he _was a Malfoy_ after all.

"It is really hard to take you seriously with those pajamas on Draco!" she was still walking around the living room dancing like a silly school girl. She could almost pass for Luna Lovegood with her eccentric wat a.

"Well, I did intend to make it to where it would be very hard to take us seriously. I felt it was needed to be everything except serious today! We have an entire day of doing whatever we want and I feel like movies, ice cream, pillow forts, and pajamas are in order!" he said this with a lot of enthusiasm. And to Hermione's surprise it did not bother her.

Her little dance came to a stop as she got to the couch and saw the black and green blanket laid over the edge with some care. Folded neatly, but not so hard it creased the fabric. She grazed her hand over the black cloth and it was like touching heaven. It was so soft, and it looked like it meant a lot to him.

"Draco, what is this?" she asked with caution not wanting to change the mood. She was having so much fun.

"Oh, that is my old blanket I used to sneak into Hogwarts." He smiled okay,that meant it was okay to talk about it.

"Why did you sneak it into Hogwarts? We all had something we took just so we could have a piece of home." He smirked a little at the response

"Well, in the Malfoy home it was considered childish to take a blanket to school." he said this in a sort of mock Lucius sarcastic way and laughed

"But I did it anyway; it was charmed to get larger as I grew so I could use it forever. My mother made it for me when I was born and I have had it ever since. It means a lot to me, since it was made and not bought like all of my other belongings." He had a nostalgic kind of smile on his face

Hermione smiled at him for showing his vulnerability "It is very soft, I like it."

He was brought back from his thoughts with a slight start. He had almost forgotten that Hermione was even near him. "Thank you and I will maybe be nice and share it with you if you are _**really**_ nice to me"

She smiled at him of course he would have to involve sharing. He really was NOT the same boy she knew back in school and she couldn't be more thrilled to have anyone else helping her smile through today. As much as she loved Harry, she was not able to be as raw with him as she could with Draco. She could always call Pansy and Theo but Pansy would try and comfort her with going out to some party that wasn't really Hermione's scene at the moment and Theo would try and distract her with books and museums. While she appreciated the idea; she needed someone who understood wanting to just be in the moment and to just smile with her and make her laugh; someone who would understand not wanting to be out in the world. And at the moment that was Draco. He had brought over every childish thing he could think of except for crayons and coloring pages.

"Okay fine! But first…"

"ICE CREAM?!" he finished her sentence and jumped up and down and clapped his mittens together. "I will race you to the kitchen! Last one there is a rotten egg!"

He was the epitome of a small child and she couldn't help but appreciate it. She was always so serious; this was a nice change of pace. Although she wasn't entirely sure of how comfortable she was with him being so much like a child. But she decided to go ahead and continue participating in his antics.

With a fearful look in her eyes she looked up to the corner of the room she spoke

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS THAT?!"

As he looked over his shoulder up into the right corner of the room and immediately heard her snickers behind him.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT BEAVER!"

He reached the island in the kitchen at the same time she was getting the ice cream out of the freezer;

She smiled and started laughing so hard she hunched over grabbing her stomach like she was in pain. She could hardly breath she was laughing so hard.

"Are you nearly finished?" he chided. "That was not fair! You cheated miss!" he started laughing at how pompous he sounded.

"I just was asking what was in the corner of the room. You chose to look" she winked at him.

He play grimaced at her "That is not my definition of _**really**_ nice"

They stood seriously for a moment before they both laughed out loud and started scooping the ice cream out of the pints that encaged them.

It was Hermione that spoke first after a few moments "By the way" she pointed at him with her spoon.

He looked up

"You are the ONLY person who will ever get away with calling me Beaver!"

She tried to sound menacing but it came out like a mum who was trying to not laugh while she reprimanded her child for doing something silly.

He pointed his spoon at her and spoke with as much malice as she had or lacked really. "And you my dear, to be fair to you; you will be the only person allowed to call me Ferret."

"Well now that, that is settled. Shall we make our way back to the living area so we can continue our afternoon?"

He nodded and they both picked up their bowls. Magic came in handy for the best reasons. Currently the best one being that you could put a cooling charm on the sweet dish and it wouldn't melt in your hands. And cleaning up afterwards was so much easier. Her parents would never allow her to eat these kinds of things if they were still around. And they would even be more horrified by Draco's choice of toppings. Extra chocolate syrup and gummy bears and fudge! Her teeth hurt just looking at it.

They walked into the living room, just in time for the floo ring that someone was coming through.

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Let me know what you think! I plan on trying to get at least 2 chapters out in a month's time, maybe more; but no promises. I appreciate everyone who is reading this. Also thank you again to everyone who is following this story! I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it!


	10. Chapter 10

Per a few requests I decided to not keep everyone waiting for too long. I know some of you wanted to know who was coming through the floo and while I am sure some of you guessed it, I appreciate you all being patient with me you all are awesome!

As always I own none of the characters, those belong to Ms. Rowling.

Enough of my ramblings!

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Chapter 10: Here We Go….

"Who could that be?" Hermione asked sort of to herself sort of too Draco.

Although, he had no answer; he was just as confused as she was. Harry and Ginny were out of town they left that morning. Pansy and Theo had a fashion show in Spain. And Blaise was spending some time with his aunt. After realizing that none of their friends were in town they wondered who could possibly have access to her floo network without her permission.

It took all of a split moment for them both to think out loud. "It couldn't possibly be!"

Draco looked furious while Hermione only looked worried. She grabbed her wand so she could allow the person to walk through the bright green flames onto her dark hard wood floors. Knowing who it was both Draco and Hermione transfigured their adorable onesies into more appropriate attire for the coming guest. Leaving them standing with long sleeve button up shirts, jeans, and shoes to match. The hoods of the onesies had turned into hats that would go perfectly with their new outfits.

They had just finished when Mr. Lucius Malfoy walked through the flames; surprisingly in rather casual clothes. It was a suit still but only half of one. He had the black dress pants and ash colored button up shirt. He wore black Italian leather shoes and his cane was much less flashy than she had recalled. Although that could be because of him not having it made into his wand.

"Ms. Granger, I assumed you would have better wards into your home. I am a bit disappointed to see you being so lax in regards to your safety."

Lucius looked at Hermione and turned his nose up slightly. He may have shifted sides at the end of the war but he was still the same pureblooded git he always was.

"Father, how did you find me?"

He stopped staring at Hermione for a moment to look at Draco. He had a fire behind his eyes but she couldn't tell if it was from because of who was breathing his air or if it was because he had a reason for barging in on their day.

"Your mother sent me."

"Was there a reason for it then?"

"Draco, I wish to speak to you privately. I don't want this getting out and who knows what the war heroine will say to Potter and that Weasel."

Apparently that name was something that got around to more than just the Slytherin's at Hogwarts.

"No. You barged into her home, and she deserves to know why. I doubt she will tell anyone anything especially Mr. Weasley."

She lifted her eyes wide to that; Draco had never called Ronald by his actual last name before without it dripping in disdain.

"Oh, No I wouldn't want to intrude. Clearly this is a family matter and I don't want to be rude. Mr. Malfoy would you care for a cup of tea?"

Taken back by her manners, it took Lucius a moment to speak.

"That would be lovely Ms. Granger. I appreciate your understanding that this is a private moment."

"Of course sir, I know you would not be here unless it really was important"

She couldn't be sure but she was positive she saw a slight smile cross his features; in a way it kind of weirded her out. Lucius, smiling after something SHE said. She internally laughed at the thought.

"Thank you, oh and Ms. Granger could I get a lemon and ONE sugar cube in my tea….please?"

He said the please as if it was an afterthought, but she would take what she could get. He DID just come to her home uninvited. She hoped everything was okay with Draco's mother; he would be devastated if anyth-

She was interrupted by Draco yelling in the other room.

"WHAT?! ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? ABSOLUTELY NOT! DOES SHE KNOW WHAT THAT WOULD DO? WHAT THAT WOULD IMPLY? DID SHE EVEN TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THAT MAYBE SHE WOULDN'T WANT TO GO NEAR THAT PLACE AFTER WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?!"

"Draco, there is no need to shout. Hermione is in the next room and I do not wish to tell her what is being asked of her, not yet anyway. I am fully aware what that would mean for her. I also know what it would mean for you."

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HER! NOT THE WAY I DO. SHE _WILL_ WANT TO GO AND FACE IT ALL! I ONLY JUST GOT HER OKAY WITH BEING AROUND ME! I AM NOT GOING TO PUT HER IN THE POSITION OF BEING AROUND MY ENTIRE FAMILY! NOT TO MENTION HAVE HER FACE EVERYTHING SHE LEFT! SHE LIVES HERE FOR A REASON!"

"I realize this son; I know enough to know that Ms. Granger is a strong young lady. I know she will not be forced into anything as does your mother. However, you need to not speak for her. She is not your wife nor your girlfriend. Allow her to make that decision on her own. And honestly I wouldn't dream of hurting her….again. While I may not have been fond of her heritage I know she is the reason that I have begun looking at muggles and muggle borns differently. You have not been home to see the changes we have made in our lives so please refrain from making judgement when you haven't been home in nearly a year and a half. You leaving opened both of our eyes to show us we were not indestructible and it hurt your mother deeply when you left."

Draco stood for a moment in shock. It was the first time he had heard his father refer to Hermione in such a polite manner and wasn't sure exactly how to feel about it. Lucius Malfoy did NOT apologize for being a pureblood and he did NOT ever say things like muggle born or Ms. Granger. He always said the nasty derogatory names for her. Because she was the only one he knew and hated because of how much better she did than Draco in school and she proved every pure blood wrong with how amazing she was.

Did Draco just think of her as amazing? His brow lifted slightly and he couldn't help but to think that this friendship might be harder to maintain if Hermione thought he was trying to get into a relationship with her.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Hermione; who had just walked in. She hesitantly sat the tea on the table and looked as if she didn't know if she should stay or go. And then she spoke and all the confusion melted away.

"Excuse me Mr. Malfoy I don't mean to be rude but if I may?" she said to Lucius pointing slightly to Draco. She hoped she could calm him down a bit. He was seething and he needed to calm down before he said something he would regret.

"Draco, could I talk to you for a moment?"

He looked at her and tilted his head. What could she possibly wan- _'shit'_ he spoke to himself. She had heard everything he and his father had been speaking about.

He nodded his head in agreement

They walked down the hall into Hermione's bedroom. There was a tall window with French doors and a balcony. It was beautiful and not at all what he had expected, he expected reds and golds all over but instead purple hues and black met his eyes. And before he knew it they were standing on the chilled balcony and Hermione pulled out what looked to be a pack of cigarettes.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She looked at the rolled tobacco in between her fingers as she inhaled deeply taking in the smokey taste.

"A nasty habit that I turn to when I am way too stressed. I don't do it often enough to be addicted but I have a feeling after you tell me what your father said I might need to calm my nerves a bit. Now would you like to just tell me or are you going to make me beg you?"

He was a bit shocked by finding this out about her. He knew it was a nasty habit because he had picked it up while traveling. He sighed and inhaled the smell of her Marlboro Light 100.

"He came to tell me that my mother would like us both to come back with him and speak to them. Also she wants you to stay for dinner. I still don't know how he got into your home Hermione, I am so sorry! I will fix it the moment he leaves."

She looked thoughtful at him for a moment and decided to finally speak after what seemed like 30 minutes.

"I assume you don't want me going because of the history I have at the Manor correct?"

He shook his head

"You absolutely do NOT have to go Hermione. I wouldn't even dream of asking you to go back to that place."

"NO!" she practically shouted

He stepped back a bit by the change in her pitch

"I mean no, it would be fine. I actually *cough* kind of would like to face that obstacle. I haven't really been back in that world for some time; I would like to accompany you."

"Mione, no. you do not NEED to go back there. You faced everything in your life head on and I don't think you should have to face this also."

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, I will go to that Manor and I will face my fears!" she pulled up her sleeve to reveal the colorful books that laid on her skin. "I will NOT allow this to ruin everything in my life. If I can face that room, that entire Manor, then I can face absolutely anything in this life."

He looked at her in awe. Sweet Salazar she was amazing, but he still didn't want her doing this.

"Fine, shall we go?" he was upset she could tell but this was a chance that might not ever happen again. She had to go..didn't she?

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After doing a quick cleaning charm on her clothes and brushing her teeth so Lucius didn't smell the cigarette they walked back to the living room.

"Mr. Malfoy, how was your tea?"

She noticed it was gone and hoped he really did enjoy it. It is odd thinking of Lucius drinking from a cup that the Mudblood had given him. Clearly he still had some habits that didn't die with the war as he looked like he was in pain by the words that spilled from his mouth.

"Thank you Ms. Granger, I did. It surprisingly tasted close to how Cissa makes it."

Again her eyes opened in shock, who would have thought that Lucius would have a pet name for Narcissa Malfoy.

"My pleasure. Now if you don't mind my asking, how exactly did you and Mrs. Malfoy find out that your son was for one; becoming friends with me two; that he was at my home at this moment. And three; where I lived? I apologize for plethora of questions, but these are answers I need before we continue discussing the outcome of this visit."

Draco and Lucius shared a look and then both let out a throaty laugh. Hermione knew it was not for the same reasons, but it made her more curious.

"Ms. Granger, I feel that I would be worried if you were not a little curious about all of those questions. You did study under Allister Moody and what was it he said? Constant vigilance was it? And I will answer all of your questions, please have a seat?"

He asked with a question knowing this was not his home so he couldn't order anyone to do as he said. But the children decided to go along with his request as they sat down.

"To answer your first question Ms. Granger; my lovely wife found out about you and Draco because she had ran into Pansy, she and Draco were always very close and she had mentioned that you had a surprise birthday party for her and invited him. Not that she has ever betrayed your confidence I assure you, however since this involved her son she thought perhaps it would be okay to speak freely about it. Cissa was a bit shocked when she learned of the friendship you had formed with Hermione, Draco; but not at all angry. She has missed you for some time since you moved to the muggle world. Even I know the two of you were closer than you and I ever have been. Anyway, what was said was said in passing and bares no consequence other than your mother wanting to formally meet the witch who has stolen Draco's time and heart."

They both piped up "We are just friends!"

He looked at the both of them with knowing eyes. Like he saw something they did not.

"To answer your second question, we have spells that will allow us to track down our son; although this time I may have bothered Mr. Potter before he had left for the quidditch game this morning. He seemed to know exactly where the both of you would be. And while I would have preferred to speak to Draco alone at first, I see now that he would probably have not told about this meeting had that been the case."

He picked up his tea cup and sipped it slowly so to be careful not to slurp. He eyed them both taking in the scene before him. Draco was almost protective of Ms. Granger; they had said they were just friends but judging by his body language Draco seemed to almost want more than mere friendship. Perhaps Ms. Granger really had stolen his sons heart, tragic that she doesn't see it though. Perhaps in time she will, one can only hope.

"Well then, it seems you answered all of my questions. As for my wards, Draco they really were not that hard to get through. I never made them high security. I am in muggle London and don't expect many visitors. Also, Mr. Malfoy you may tell Mrs. Malfoy I would be happy to join you this afternoon and this evening. Please all that I ask is that you allow me to change into proper attire."

Now that they looked at one another, they realized that neither of them were in the proper clothing.

"Yes me as well father, wouldn't want to disappoint mother with lack of taste."

"why would you need to change clothes? Is there something wrong with what you are wearing now?"

They both looked at him not able to speak. It took a moment and Lucius began to laugh.

"Cissa doesn't mind that you are wearing those clothes. In fact she is probably sporting something of similar taste today. It is Saturday and she tends to be much more dressed down. Also, as I said MANY things have changed since you have not been home dear boy. Now unless you are wanting to change out of the transfigured clothes then that I understand."

"How di-"

"My dear, you cannot expect me to believe you were wearing something so warm inside. Clearly you were hurried to be a sort of decent when I came through. I imagine you wouldn't want to be seen wearing your pajamas, especially by someone such as myself."

He smirked knowing that neither of them knew how he knew about their clothes. Truth was he had been keeping an eye on Draco and saw him purchase the clothes just 2 hours before. He knew that Ms. Granger had recently broken up with the weasel and thought his son was trying to be helpful in allowing her to be a child again.

He knew this trick, he had used it when Cissa was going through a break up with a bloke from their Hogwarts days. He had told her that he was going to make her feel herself once again. He had told Draco this story many times growing up of how mom and dad had fallen in love. It was lucky they were betrothed otherwise they wouldn't be where they are today. Draco doesn't recall those days. They were long before the times of Voldemort and when he had learned that the Dark Lord was back he didn't think of his family the way he should have and he sacrificed the one good thing in his life for the sake of finding favor in some crazed half blooded monster. He hoped he could get close to Draco again like they were when he was young but he didn't hold his breath. Draco had lost all respect for him after the time of the war. He had tried to maintain their lifeblood status until he realized fully what it had done to his family after Cissa had said she would leave him if he didn't stop. She had her bags packed and ready when he came home from work and was ready before Lucius reasoned with her and made some changes.

"Well then, if you don't mind. I am going to change into something more appropriate for being inside. Ill also bring something to change into for dinner. I imagine Mrs. Malfoy doesn't allow for such casual dress at the dining table?" She said with a smirk.

"Indeed she does not. I will floo her and let her know you both will be accompanying me back to the manor."

Hermione could swear that she saw that smile again.

She walked back to her room closer the door and let out a sigh of relief. She didn't know how she was going to handle going back to the place that she was tortured so long ago. She knew she had to do this but it didn't make it any less terrifying. She and Draco had become very close over the past several weeks and its clear he is the best kind of friend to have around. Even though its only been some weeks they become close she had discovered many things that they had in common. Books, shows, wine, and of course their friends. The best part of their new found friendship was that it was nice to be in the same world as him for once. He didn't seem arrogant and he had matured a great deal since their rivalry days. She would suppose that war does that to children.

She was surprised by how much they understood about one another. She would have guessed that they would be complete opposites, but muggle Malfoy seemed to suit him much better than she would have expected; well all except his lack of meals knowledge. He could burn a kitchen down in less than 30 minutes. He had almost done it to Hermione's home when he had come over to further his cooking lessons. They decided going out to dinner was easiest and by far the safer choice.

She was brought back once again from her thoughts by Draco knocking on her door asking if she was ready.

She had changed into a dark pair of jeans, they flared at the bottoms and an elegant spaghetti strapped Navy Blue top that had some rhinestones that rested on the collar. It was not too tight but not too loose you couldn't tell that she was a woman. She always sported the converse; they were her favorite pair of shoes. She had many colors to choose from and decided to match them with the shirt.

"Yes, I am ready." She finished putting on her watch just as Draco had started to open the door.

"You look lovely" he said with a shy smile.

"Thank you, did you need a different pair of clothes? You recall you brought some of your dress clothes over here for in case you got called away on an emergency again"

"Ah yes, I need to change everything."

They shared a look and then laughed silently.

"I will be back, don't worry I won't leave you alone with my father for too long." He winked

She rolled her eyes "Draco, I think I can handle _The Great Lucius Malfoy_ should the occasion call for it; however, I think I would like to talk to him privately for a moment anyway; if you don't mind?" she said the last bit almost like a question.

He gave her a look of concern and in his own way gave her the permission she needed to speak to his father alone.

As she passed him, he shook his head, _'what could she possibly need to talk to him about in private?'_ he thought to himself.

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Well another chapter down, I appreciate everyone who is reviewing and critiquing! I take them all into consideration. You are all so wonderful for reading this and letting me know your thoughts. I am doing my best to keep to my promises!

What do you think she needs to speak to Mr. Malfoy about?

Please leave me your thoughts. Love you all


	11. Chapter 11

I have been absent! I apologize!

As always I own nothing. I appreciate you all.

Enough of my talking….I will let you read.

Chapter 11: Excuse Me Mr. Malfoy..

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Draco walked to the spare room with his head hanging low and his hands in his pockets. _'What could she possibly need to talk to my father about?_ ' he thought to himself. He tried racking his brain about all the things that could be said. After some time he came to conclusion she needed to clear the air with his father on some things.

After what seemed like several minutes he finally pushed open the spare door and went straight to the closet to rummage through to find something semi acceptable. He had a hard time imagining his mother in anything but her elegant robes or even doing any kind of work where her hands would genuinely get dirty. But then he recalled the softer side of his mother before Voldemort overtook their home once again.

She used to love being in the gardens and actually helping the house elves. Of course after Voldemort returned Lucius had become so callous towards him and his mother that Narcissa lost her spark for life. Everything green and of color she had died with her heart as it slowly broke with every new mission for her Death Eater husband.

After Draco was branded along with others she turned to stay in her room and not come out unless Draco was hurt. And even then she didn't feel warm like she used to. She, like Lucius had grown cold and unwelcoming.

"Well, I am glad to see that she is back to herself once again." Draco whispered to himself.

With that being said he walked into the closet and began getting ready. He would take his time so Hermione could speak with his father. He only hoped Lucius would not be a git to her in her own home.

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"Mr. Malfoy, I know these circumstances are a bit unorthodox. However, I feel like maybe I need to say a few things before we continue to the manor. Just as well, I also need to ask your permission for something."

"Very well Ms. Granger, what is it I can help you with?"

Hermione smiled at his polite exterior and noticed he didn't sneer when he said her name.

"Firstly, I hope you are not here to try and get Draco back home. We have become rather close over the last few weeks and I couldn't bear to see him in any pain. Emotionally or physically; secondly, I would like to ask that you are transparent with me. Be honest in how you feel about my blood status. I need to know where we stand."

She paused for a moment so he could answer her

"Ms. Granger, if you please. We are not the same bigoted family as we used to be, we have come a lot farther than we thought possible."

She scrunched her nose

"Why? Why now are you suddenly so interested in Draco?"

He paused; thinking of what would be the best way to say it.

"Cissa and I miss our son; after he left our world and began residing here we knew we had practically lost him. He barely comes home for holiday and we might be lucky to hear from him once every 6 months. Cissa blames me for him not coming home and believe me when I say I have never met a woman who can give off such a chilling silent treatment. I fear if she encounters any more heart break she just might not survive it. And the thought of missing out on her only child and his future family might be just enough to do the trick. So when she demanded I try to make nice with our son I didn't argue. I want nothing more than to simply be here for Draco, I may be a Slytherin as well as an ex-Death Eater Ms. Granger but I care deeply for my family and I know I have wronged them a great deal in the past 20 plus years. They had to be a part of something horrific due to my stupidity of following a blood thirsty half-blood. I appreciate your concern for Draco and I am thrilled he has a friend that is outside of his element."

Hermione was shocked by his confession and tried hard not to show it on her features. But bloody hell! Lucius had all but said he missed and loved his son very much. Sure Cissa is the one who told him what he was going to do, but she didn't believe Lucius would ever do anything he didn't want to.

"Now, for your last question?" he gave her a look that said he knew where this was going but was going to let her get it out.

"Ah yes, I realize that time has passed since the war and that the past is the past. But I would like to face my still haunting nightmare. I would like to visit the drawing room in the manor, I feel like I will never be rid of these dreams unless I face it head on, and harness that fear and use it for the better. I just wanted to ask your permission to go in there alone for a little while. I will come out when I can no longer handle it, but I would like to try if I may."

Lucius raised his left eyebrow in shock. The girl that was tortured by his crazed sister in law wanted to face where she was cut, beaten, and cursed because of her blood. She wanted to overcome a memory that is still her worst nightmares. He looked at her with sad in his eyes.

"Hermione, my dear you still have nightmares regarding that evening?"

She shook her head as her shoulders slumped. She lifted her sleeve to show off the tattoo that covered the ugly scar on her left forearm.

"Most nights I am fine. Others I feel like I can't breathe, I have gotten the muggle authorities called to my flat a few times due to the screams that escape me while I sleep. I do my best to remember the silencing charms before bed but I sometimes fall asleep too quickly and don't do it. Recently they have been less frequent due to the amount of time I have spent with Draco. He really has grown up since our final year at Hogwarts and the war I am positive had a massive effect on him."

It was at this moment that Draco walked out of the spare room, he knew that eavesdropping was rude but he wanted to make sure everything was fine with his friend. And possibly the girl he started falling in love with. So he listened to whispers, careful not to make any noise.

Lucius moved forward and gently grasped Hermione's left arm. He studied the books that she had piled there and couldn't help the water that pricked his eyes as he began to speak.

"Hermione, I am so happy that my son has found it in himself to become close with you. After the war I was worried he wouldn't ever be the Draco I knew when he was a child. I know it is hard to think of me as the kind of father that actually does love his son, but I truly do. I loathed myself for what I did to Draco and still do every day for what it did to our family. My wife has always been much closer with him and I can only wish that Draco would be that way with me. Do not hide this from us please Hermione. You have managed to make this awful day into something beautiful and worth looking at. I know the sins of Bellatrix will never be washed away but I am happy you were able to make something awful into art. All we ask is that we are able to get to know the Hermione Granger that my son used to come home talking about that first holiday at Hogwarts. He only treated you the way he did because I told him to. I apologize from the bottom of my cold heart for everything that had to be put on you because of my family."

At this last sentence Hermione launched herself into Lucius Malfoy and hugged him.

"Thank you Mr. Malfoy, you have no idea what that means to me."

*cough* "Ahem, did I miss something?"

They both turned to see Draco dressed much more proper and his hair had been combed and set to the side much like their sixth year. He looked handsome in Hermione's opinion.

"Your father just granted me permission to see the drawing room at your home."

Draco gave them both a disapproving look

"Hermione, you do not have to go if you do not want to. I could expl-" he was cut off by an index finger being pressed to his lips.

"Draco, we discussed this. I need to do this; I need to face these demons. I would like to go alone, but I would also like to ask you to be there in case I need you. You are the only one who understands how I felt that day. I want to walk in alone but if I need you would you be willing to be there."

She took her finger off his mouth and moved her hand to cup his left cheek. She saw the battle that was stirring in his eyes and could help but feel guilty because she realized how heavy this question was to him. She was asking him to go back to a place that he had to watch her get tortured, had to go to meetings with the most psychotic wizard in London. She was asking him to face his demons with her.

After several minutes he brought his left hand to meet the one on his face. He closed his eyes as he just held her hand and reveled in her touch for just a moment before he spoke. She would hate him, hate him after going back and he knew it. She wouldn't want to be near him after all of this had come to light. He would have to tell her everything. He would have to face the demons he has been putting off for so long. He would have to tell Hermione what he had done in that very room he wouldn't be able to hide it any longer.

"Hermione, I will go with you. You should know though, after our time in there you will hate me; you will want nothing to do with me and you will think of me completely differently than you do right now."

He pulled her hand down but didn't let go of it, just holding onto the moment for a little longer he could die a happy man knowing that just for a moment he saw the flittering of love in her eyes as she held his face and then his hand. He could remember today as the time he saw them goofing off in her living room being children for the first time in their entire time of knowing one another. He would smile every time he looked up and saw the first time he saw her in the park reading Pride & Prejudice. Her hair in a lax pony tail as her curls draped her back. The face she made when Elizabeth talked about her love for Mr. Darcey. He didn't deserve someone so forgiving in his life. Regardless of how long it had been, he could never truly forgive himself for what he did in that war.

"Mmmm, I will not hate you Draco Malfoy. I might need a little time to process everything but I will not allow everything we have done and talked about be thrown out because the past is brought back to the light. I consider you to be one of my very close friends and we haven't even had the chance to get to know one another completely just yet."

"What about Harry, and Ginny? They have been there for you through everything. Even the tears I caused. How could you be okay with being around the boy that tormented you for so long? The boy that watched you fall to Bella's wand and her own knife that carved that disgusting word in your arm."

Hermione could feel him shaking, he was losing his grip because he was worried about her reaction to something he hasn't said out loud yet. She knew that Draco was probably the Death Eater given the task to go and murder her parents. He wouldn't tell her that though, he feared losing the friendship they had. But she was patient and when he told her she would react however she was feeling. Of course she knew, but how would she feel hearing it slide off his lips.

She moved closer so she could lay her head on his heaving chest. She untangled their hands and wrapped her arms around his waist. He returned it without thinking and placed his chin on her head as he wrapped his arms around her small frame. She took in a deep breath, he smelled like spearmint and old spice and chocolate.

"Draco, calm down. I don't hang out with the bratty boy from Hogwarts who called me Mudblood every chance he got. I don't spend my days with the boy that made tears fall and ruin my homework. I talk every day to a _man_ that has turned his entire life around. To a _man_ who makes me feel like it is okay to let loose now and then. You are NOT the same boy you were at school. And I will hex anyone who comes to you and says otherwise. I can handle a lot of things Draco Malfoy, so don't treat me like I am a china doll who cannot handle herself. I wouldn't be dancing in my living room in onsie pajamas and eating ice cream like a small child if I felt threatened. For once in my life I feel like I can be a child and it is by far the most amazing feeling I have ever had. And I have you to thank for it. You may have been the cause of a lot of tears, but you have recently been the cause of sore ribs from laughing entirely too hard."

She lifted her head and smiled at him. He kissed her head and let the scent of her strawberries and champagne shampoo sink into his nostrils.

"Okay then, shall we go."

They had almost forgotten Lucius was there to witness all of what was just said.

"No time like the present." Draco joked.

Hermione let Lucius and Draco go first. She needed a moment to compose herself. She had put on a strong front, but the truth was; she was terrified! She didn't know what to expect and she certainly didn't know how she would react being in the home that she was tortured in.

With a heavy sigh and a deep breath she grabbed the floo powder "MALFOY MANOR!" and with a rush of green flames she was gone. Not knowing what to expect and praying to Merlin that everything would work out.

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So I know I have taken a very long time to post, lately I have said I have been stuck in a bad place. My writing has been trash. But I doing my best. Please be patient with me, and review! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed already. I am looking for a BETA still!

Let me know what you all think. You are all amazing readers and I appreciate it all.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Welcome to Malfoy Manor?

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The green flames subsided and she stepped out on to the dark tiles. Although when she looked up to see Draco and Lucius they had worried yet calm expressions on their faces. They were probably concerned that she would immediately fall to the floor in a fit of anxiety. She was so much stronger than that, she could do this! She berated herself for even having a little fear. She was a Gryffindor and Hermione Freaking Granger! She could do this, and she would do it with as much grace as she could.

Upon closer inspection of the home, she realized this was not the same home she was in several years ago. It was almost homey; she was met with walls in shades of blues and white trim. It was comfortable almost and she could feel the warmth of the atmosphere radiating through the room. The dark marble tiles contrasted nicely with the walls and it took Lucius talking to bring her back to the present.

"Cissa felt that the greens and blacks were too dark. She wanted to walk into her home feeling like it was safe and like there was life once again; so we settled for the blues and whites instead of the blacks and greys."

"I think it's brilliant" Draco beamed; as he looked around he noticed the house was mostly quiet. The only noise he heard was the sound of Moonlight Sonata playing throughout the manor. His mother had loved to play the piano and even taught Draco how to play at a young age. Moonlight Sonata was his favorite and often put him to sleep.

"Father, where are all the portraits of Malfoys past?" he realized why it was so quiet now and he had to wonder why all the portraits were gone.

Hermione had noticed but opted not to say anything out of fear it would bring up a bad memory for the pair of Slytherins in front of her.

Lucius smiled and clapped his hands together once. "Ah yes! We took them all down and stored them in our Gringotts vault. We didn't need to hear about how they felt when they learned you had left our home for the muggle world. It has been so peaceful with them all gone! Dare I say it has been stress free. Your mother feels like a teenager again and her magic is much stronger now that the negative is gone."

Hermione couldn't help but notice the twinkle in the older Malfoy's eyes as he spoke.

"Mr. Malfoy, this is beautiful. It is barely recognizable!"

"Indeed, well shall we go find Cissa? She is dying to see you Draco and to finally meet Hermione properly." He once again smiled.

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They walked into the music room to hear the beautiful melody come to an abrupt stop. Before anyone could do anything Narcissa Malfoy was running across the room and jumping at Draco to give him a hug. With tears pricking her eyes she held her son so close and rough that Hermione thought he might choke to death.

"Mother, I do need to breathe if I am to make it to dinner." He laughed

"Oh I am so sorry! Where are my manners! Hello" she let go of Draco and held out her hand to shake, rather odd in a pureblood society for the woman to shake a hand thought Hermione.

"I am Narcissa Malfoy, I am so happy to make your acquaintance."

Taking the Matriarchs hand Hermione smiles "Hello Mrs. Malfoy, my name is Hermione Granger; thank you very much for inviting me to your home. It is quiet lovely."

They smiled at one another, and let their hands drop after the proper amount of time had passed.

"Thank you; I have Lucius here to thank for all the wonderful work done to rebuild our home."

After a moment Hermione and Draco looked at one another sharing the shock of seeing his mother sporting a pair of jeans and an elegant top that flowed at she walked. Her dark hair was long and waved down the length of her back.

"Darling, would you like some tea?" asked Lucius

"That would be lovely; we can sit and talk for a moment before we all spread out to get ready for dinner."

After getting their tea, Hermione and Narcissa sat and talked like old friends catching up after years apart. Both Draco and Lucius looked on in amusement as they threw their heads back in laughter and got on rather nicely. They were not surprised that the two witches in front of them had become very open to one another in such a short amount of time. They had just met and they acted as if a war had never happened. They talked about the men to their side, saying that they were far to similar and then proceeded to poke fun at the both of their habits. This was the most that Draco had seen her genuinely smile and laugh in ages. Even before the war she always seemed far too worried, and she dove into her studies to simply look for some peace from it all.

After nearly two and half hours, Lucius stood causing both women to stop talking for a moment. But the smiles continued to reach their eyes. "Well ladies, I believe if we are to make dinner at the right time, we should adjourn the rest of this conversation until then. Also giving Hermione the time to get acquainted with her room as well as the new manor."

"Ah, yes of course. I had almost forgotten."

Narcissa looked at Hermione with a sullen face and couldn't help the tears that welled up in her eyes.

"You know you don't have to do this right? You can let this all go and let the demons rest." Narcissa put her head down, she didn't want her to have to relive the horrors of that night. But she also knew that Hermione didn't allow fear to overcome the rest of her life. She had been brave through everything and if this was holding her back who was she to hold Hermione back.

Hermione looked at the three Malfoy's in front of her. She knew this was hard on all of them, but she didn't like that she feared a ghost and she had hoped that maybe, just maybe this might give her some peace of mind. If she feared someone who didn't even exist anymore, then how could she face her nightmares and tell them they were simply nightmares now. She was brave and she could do this. She had to do this….didn't she?

"Thank you all for telling me that. I know I don't have to do this; I fear for what might happen if I don't. I really appreciate all of your concerns. Draco has helped me through a lot of it believe it or not. I was surprised by how quickly he and I took to one another. And he has helped keep the nightmares at bay. When he is around I feel the safer than I have ever been. I know this is a lot to ask but I thank you for allowing me to be here and face my fears once more. At least this time I know I am safe." She smiled and hugged them all, she clung to Draco a little longer than she meant to. But he didn't mind, she needed to know it was all going to be okay. And if his embrace could do that then he wouldn't dare let go first.

"Well then, shall we Ms. Granger?" Lucius asked. He held out his right arm and invited her to follow him, she took it and smiled.

Narcissa watched as the pair walked away from her and Draco. She gently put her hand on Draco's shoulder.

"You know your father was heartbroken when he realized you wouldn't come home unless he had changed his pureblood ways." It was more of a statement than an actual question.

"I know he was. He explained to me how sorry he was, I don't know how quickly I am going to be able to forgive him for everything but accepting Hermione as a human being and my friend is a very good start. I am quite surprised by how easily he accepted that I was with her. He was even kind of civil when he walked in." he smirked

"Well, I told him if he was anything less he wouldn't get any kind of love from me until he made it right." She winked at him with a devious smile.

"OH MY GOD MOTHER! I could have gone all my life without knowing you and my father were- blech!-"

He shook his head in disgust and stuck out his tongue.

Narcissa threw her head back and laughed. "I could have gone my entire life without knowing a lot of things about your extra activities Draco Malfoy. However, being your mother I was not gifted with being blind." She quipped back.

He held his hands up in mock surrender "Okay, Okay I give! Truce?" he gave her a pleading look.

"Truce" she smiled

"Shall we follow them so Hermione is not left alone for too long?" he just like his father held out his right arm and his mother took it and wrapped her arm around his. It was nice to have him back in their home. She only hoped he would stay with her longer this time.

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Both men looked at Hermione still with a little concern. Draco was beaming with pride as he took in what the changes were to the manor. They began walking down the hall; after 15 minutes or so of walking they stopped.

Lucius turned to Hermione

"Hermione, this is the drawing room. I will let you decide if you want to spell it so that it looks like the place you were brought so you can face all the demons you feel the need to. But please know, THAT is not the home we live in any longer. Nor the life we choose to follow. We have made many mistakes and are grateful for our second chance at this." he pointed at the room and then turned his gaze to Draco

"Son, I will tell you how to get in there and the spell you may use to change the room. It will last up to 2 hours; this is the only room in the manor that this will work. And it will only work once, we had hoped you would come home to us. But we also worried you might have the same idea as this young lady. I will not speak anymore on this."

He told Draco the incantation to repeat and then walked away stating he would see them at dinner. It would be at 7 and they should be dressed and ready by 6:55

"Hermione, do you need a moment?"

She stood frozen staring at the tall doors that opened to the place that haunted her nightmares and prayed she could do this.

With a final nod she looked at Draco and asked him to spell it to be as horrid as it was that day. She was not sure she was prepared but she had to do this.

With a deep breath she opened the doors to hear a cackling that could only ever known as Bellatrix Lestrange.

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I know I know please I beg your forgiveness for my tardiness in updating!

I realize I always have the same excuses that life is just not permitting me to write the way I would like to!

As always review review review! I am so thrilled to have 45 followers! I didn't even think I would get that many. I am loving where this is all going. Don't worry y'all more drama is coming soon! I am still setting the tone for the rest of the fiction. I know it is moving slowly, but I promise I have plenty coming up

Love you all from the bottom of my heart!

Thank you for reading and reviewing

-Ariel


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Drawing Room Confessions

Hello my loves, I know I have been terrible about updates lately. I have been so busy and work just doesn't want to work around my writing schedule.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed everything. You all are the reason I continue to work on this fiction.

As always I do NOT own any of the characters, except for perhaps a few of my own I make up…. but we all know the HP characters will always belong to the ever so lovely J.K. Rowling!

Enough talking.. shall we read?

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Hermione was hit with the foul smell of death and rotting flesh. She looked to her right and saw Greyback was knawing on some bones like the filthy mutt that he was. She sneered at him, then she stopped. Frozen where she stood.

"You filthy mudblood!WHO THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Bellatrix laughed. Throwing her head back as her arms flew above her head and she looked to be as menacing as that day, if not even a bit worse. "Draco, my darling nephew" she drawled.

Hermione turned to see Draco coming from the shadows. No he couldn't be here, this was about her torture. HE was not part of the torture! What is this?! Hermione's head was screaming at her to run, to cast the spell to end it all. She felt like the room was spinning.

"Yes Aunt Bella?"

"Tell me, is this the filthy mudblood whore that you were on about? Is this the bitch that thinks she is worthy of her magic? Best question yet. Is this Harry Potter's slut?"

Bella had her wand trained on Draco's mother? Oh my God the entire Malfoy family is here. We are starting from the beginning. Hermione's thoughts were reeling. She didn't know how to respond. This was a simulation; this was not the real thing. The real torture was over, she was alive and Bella was dead. She could overcome this.

She looked at Draco with tears in her eyes and saw that he had sorrow in his own. Almost an apology was dancing in his silver eyes.

"I-I- I can't be sure, she is too dirty and this girl is much thinner than the mudblood I know." He drawled, he had never sounded so detached. And Hermione at that moment was grateful that she had gotten to know the Draco of today.

A screech across the room made time stand still. "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT SWORD?!"

"It was in the purse of the mudblood. I found it and so it is mi-" he was cut off by a flash of green light

"Avada Kadava!" she screamed. And he promptly fell to the ground. And with a clank the sword of Gryffindor joined him.

"Take the others down to the dungeons. His stinging hex should subside soon and I want to have a little chat with the filth. If she doesn't cooperate then we will bring her motivation one by one back up the stairs until she gives me the answers I want!" Bellatrix pulled the hair on the back of Hermione's head so hard she thought she might be bleeding.

Her breath was hot on Hermione's neck as she spoke. Not louder than a whisper but enough that Hermione could hear every single word.

"Now mudblood, tell me where did you get the shiny sword?" she sounded like a concerned parent waiting to be lied to so she could reprimand her daughter.

Hermione tensed. "You catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar" Hermione knew she shouldn't have said that but she couldn't help herself. It was a simulation, and she felt like perhaps she could say everything she needed to say and it would be without consequence. Or so she thought.

"BITCH!" Bellatrix screamed as she shoved Hermione to the ground. Her head bounced on the hard tiles. She forgot she had her wand this time. she was NOT defenseless. She stood up to give another piece of her mind to the simulation Bellatrix

"YOU WILL GIVE ME THE ANSWERS I WANT OR YOU WILL SUFFER! CRUCIO!"

Like hot metal flowing through her veins, Hermione fell to her knees. She felt herself screaming in agony, but refused to give this woman satisfaction again. once the Crucio stopped for a moment she gathered all her magic and cast a shielding charm on herself. The Crucio bounced off her into Greyback and while he whimpered, Hermione stood once more. Her head held high. She was strong and she could do this damn it!

"Bellatrix, you are a foul loathsome bitch. You have no right to call me a mudblood when you have such love for a halfblooded snake! That would technically make you a blood traitor would it not? I mean I would be ashamed if I was caught following someone that is all about blood purity but couldn't even uphold that law himself. Why has nobody tried killing the halfblooded snake? I wonder Bella, what would happen if you knew that he was out fucking women that were not you because he was so repulsed by your uncleanliness. You know at those revels you have that you are getting fucked by more than just your husband and willingly open your legs to everyone. I am surprised you are still alive! You must have so many diseases, I am sure that is why he won't touch you."

With fury burning in her eyes she took in everything that Hermione had just said and couldn't help but smile at the thought of all of the revels. She then recalled the face of pure disgust as Voldemort watched her.

"LIAR! THE DARK LORD LOVES ME!"

"If only it were true Bella." With a smirk on her face Hermione shot out a stupefy hitting Bella right in the chest. Followed immediately by a swift _Incarcerous._ And she was bound, no able to move. Hermione stepped up to her with a wide smile.

"I know you are fake, you are dead in this lifetime. For the rest of your life of another half hour. I think you owe someone an apology." She motioned for Draco

"Hermione, this is really not necessary." Draco wasn't sure what was happening but he felt a pang of hurt when Bella had a devilish smile.

"You are right Hermione, someone here does owe her an apology. Draco, why don't you tell your filthy mudblood about how you paid a visit to her mommy and daddy?"

Shit, there it was. He knew it would come out eventually. The reason that Draco would have to disappear from Hermione for the rest of his life. It had been him who had volunteered to take care of the Grangers. Only he had gotten there and helped them further get out. But he had lied to the dark lord and the rest of the death eater and said he took care of the situation. He had managed to get them out but he had hoped nobody had gone to double check his work. When he found out her parents were still alive after the war for a little while his heart both broke and leaped for joy. They weren't found out but they were so angry with Hermione. They didn't want to talk to her after they had found out and he couldn't help but think maybe it was because they saw part of the horrors that would have happened to them if he had not moved them. While they were moving yes, they were not getting out quick enough. He managed to convince everyone he had raped and killed Helena Granger in front of her husband and watched as he begged for mercy on her. and then turned his wand on the unarmed muggle.

"Tell her Draco, what you did to her mother while her father watched!" Bella screamed at him.

"Bellatrix that is enough, he never did anything to my parents. While they may have been the object of one of his awful tasks, instead of going through with it he helped them." Hermione had a victorious smile playing at her lips.

Draco's mouth dropped. "You knew?" he asked

"Of course I knew, my parents told me about the white haired young man who helped them move rather quickly. Saying something about trying to keep them alive for their daughter. And they were so confused because they didn't know they had a daughter. They thought you mad at first, but eventually gave in." she smiled once again.

"is this why you were able to forgive my horridness so easily Hermione."

She nodded her answer. "Of course, I wouldn't have gotten any chances with my parents had it not been for you Draco."

"WHAT?! YOU LITTLE SNEAK! YOU WILL PAY FOR BETRAYING THE DARK LORD DRACO MALFOY! YOU ARE NO NEPHEW OF MINE!"

Draco turned to look at the bound witch and smirked. "You know Aunt Bella, that sounds like a lovely plan. I never would want to be YOUR nephew. Hermione shall we end this now?" he asked holding out his arm once again so she could take it this time.

"I believe now would be a perfect time to walk away." She smiled up at him.

She wrapped her right arm around his left and they walked out of the drawing room. Both relieved and completely exhausted.

The moment they stepped through the threshold of the drawing room, they turned to have one last look. But alas, the door was gone and it was just a blank wall. You wouldn't even have known there was ever a room there. The darkness vanished along with the room and they both felt the weight of the world lift of their shoulders.

"Draco, that was brilliant. Thank you for letting me do that. you know that day I felt so helpless. Without my wand, might rights, I felt so stripped of everything."

She gave him pleased eyes and she still had not let go of his arm. Instead she was holding herself up by holding onto him. She smiled warmly as she closed her eyes and felt free for the first time since the war. This would be her life now. Free of the wretched foul smelling drawing room. She defeated Bellatrix this time; and left her for the last time in a room that no longer even existed.

"I didn't know you knew about your parents escape from me."

She looked up at the sound of his voice. He was choking on tears, and he didn't need to. She could never repay him for what he did for her. He had given her the chance to tell them she loved them again. Even if their time was short after she found them.

"Draco, I could never pay you back for what you did to me. I appreciate it all you know this. Was that the question you had planned on asking me the first night I had fallen asleep on you?"

"Yes actually it was. I couldn't get it out though. I was terrified of the answer and if you rejected me then I don't know how I could have lived with myself."

"I don't hate you Draco Malfoy."

They began to walk down the hall towards the selected rooms that were made up for them.

"I need to start planning on what I am going to do now. I mean if anyone knows we are here then we can kiss the muggle world goodbye." Hermione was beaming and Draco couldn't help but laugh.

"You know Hermione, life is what happens while you're busy making other plans."

"John Lennon! Well my my Mr. Malfoy I do believe I am learning more and more about you every single day." she smiled. Slightly surprised; that he knew about John Lennon's famous quote.

"I am full of surprises."

They reached the second room in the west wing, which was Draco's wing of the manor. "This is where I leave you to get ready for dinner Ms. Granger." She let go of his arm while he smoothly grasped her hand and brushed a light kiss across her knuckles. He bowed and with every bit of his manners said.

"I will come find you before dinner Ms. Granger. If that suits you?" he questioned.

She blushed slightly and put her hand on her heart and curtseyed at him with the slight bow of her head.

"That would be much appreciated Mr. Malfoy." He stood up straight and smiled

"Until that time Ma'am" with that he walked away head held high and shoulders light as a feather.

Hermione watched as he sauntered off. She walked into the room to find that it very much so resembled her bedroom at home; with dark hard wood floors and fuchsia walls. Dark trim and her bed was the perfect shade of cherry wood with silver bed sheets. It went perfectly together and she couldn't wait to get on that bed and fall asleep. It just looked so appealing after the afternoon she had in that room with Draco.

She looked at her watch and saw that she still had 2 hours before dinner. She could take a nice bath for a little while then get ready quickly thanks to Ginny and Pansy's need for giving her a make-over every chance they got.

She drew the hot bath in the master bathroom in her bedroom. It was a light porcelain claw footed tub that was charmed to fit the person bathing into the perfect size for them. Not too deep, perfect width, and oh so comfortable. She had bubbles and soon she was snoring softly. After about 45 minutes she was woken by her alarm that she had set to make sure she gave herself enough time to get ready.

She stepped out of the tub, and wrapped herself in the plush black towel. And decided to let her curls cascade down her back for a while, and look to see what she had to wear.

She padded lightly into the bedroom to the opposite wall of the bathroom.

On the closet there was a bit of parchment stuck on the door

 _Hermione,_

 _I don't want you to think me rude. I just wanted to make sure you felt comfortable in what you would be wearing to dinner this evening. I am sure Draco told you that we typically have formal dinners, but I wanted to give you the choice. I want you comfortable in my new home and if that means muggle clothes and converse then I will be completely happy with what you choose. If you would like to wear formal clothing then I have added some pretty dresses and favoring colors for you. I hope you find these to your satisfaction._

 _With love,_

 _Narcissa_

Hermione opened the closet door and was amazed to find some beautiful evening gowns. Along with designer jeans, new chucks, and perfect fitting tops.

She ran her hands across them all and smiled.

"I think I would love to look elegant tonight." She whispered to herself. And just like those were the magic words all the clothes were elegant silks and velvets. And everyone would know what to wear to dinner, since it was up to Hermione to choose her attire, whatever she chose; everyone else's wardrobe would reflect her decision. A knock at her door brought her back from her thoughts.

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Thank you all for being patient with me. A special thanks to iamthek. This person gave me this quote at the beginning and I wanted to use it for a long time.

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend I hope you all are nice and full

Let me know what you think.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Perfect ….

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So because I have been so bad about updating lately, I am trying to give you some shorter but important chapters.

I am so excited to see what happens next and I am the one writing it ;)

Okay that is PLENTY of my babbling, shall we see who is knocking?

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"Just a moment!" she yelled.

She grabbed her jeans she had discarded on the floor before her bath and threw on her bra and shirt. In her haste to dress she didn't see her shoe and with a thud fell on the hard wood floors.

"Ow" she got up and rubbed the side of her bum where she had fallen.

*knock* "Hermione?" *knock* "Hermione are you alright?"

With another stumble and crash into the door, she opened it.

"Narcissa, I apologize. I am such a klutz sometimes."

"Are you alright?" she smiled

"Oh yes, I just tripped and fell over – well – everything!" Hermione laughed.

"What can I do for you Narcissa? Surely I am not late to dinner am I?" she looked at her watch beginning to fret.

""No, oh my goodness no. you still have plenty of time to get ready."

Walking over to the black suede sofa she patted the spot next to her urging her to sit down.

Hermione sat, and was greeted by another warm and motherly hug. She had not felt that in years. Sure Molly always had motherly hugs, but they seemed so obligated some days. Who would have thought that this woman, the one who watched as Hermione was being tortured would be so comforting. Hermione was beginning to understand why Draco had talked of his mother in such high regards. After a long moment the two witches let go of one another.

"I wanted to come and make sure you were alright after that horrid room. Lucius and I were worried you would have ran out the moment you were done. He was more worried that you would be hurt."

Narcissa gave a soft smile; she knew this was all out of character to the Malfoy's that both Hermione and Draco knew. She also knew it would take some getting used to. Everything about this situation was different. As a whole, they were in fact still a pureblooded family. The only difference in the current days; is that they wouldn't mind having half-blooded grandchildren.

"I appreciate the concern from all three of you. I know Draco didn't want me to go into that room because he didn't want me hating him. I knew a secret of his that he had not really told anyone, and when I informed him of that his eyes lit up and he looked as though an extra heavy weight was lifted off his shoulders."

"The secret regarding your parents" Narcissa half asked.

She knew of this secret after Draco had broken down after the war and told her. She knew then that her son would eventually pursue Hermione, but she also knew he would only do so if Hermione allowed it. She knew the real reason he left the magical world was because he needed to make a name for himself outside of being death eater scum. He would have to prove to Hermione that he had in fact changed, and not just the way he dressed. He would have to show her the change of heart he had made.

"Draco told me about it after the war and the trials. He couldn't bear to hold it in any longer, he only hoped that your parents were alive. He even tried finding them to restore their memories for you, but when he had found them you already had done just that; and he knew that whatever chances he had at making redemption would have to be done where you would least expect it. he doesn't wish for me to tell you these things Ms. Granger, but I thought you should know. The boy that went to school is not the man that walked into my home this afternoon. I want to thank you; thank you so much changing my family for the better. and thank you for opening our eyes to so very many possibilities."

Hermione sat there with her lips half parted for a minute.

"Mrs. Malfoy, your son has helped me also. We were rivals yes, but we overcame that and I have grown rather fond of his friendship. If I may be so bold as to say that sometimes I don't ever want our time to end. I feel safe and like he truly has changed and I know that you played a large part in that change as well. He speaks of you and how you were with him as a child. Thank you for allowing me to come here, you have no idea how much better I truly feel. While the scenario in that room was the same, it was so different. I had the chance to fight back, and I quiet literally got fight against my fears and defeated them head on. And Draco got to do the same. It was important for the both of us."

"Well, I am so proud of both of you. I told Lucius I wanted nothing more to do with that room. So he got rid of it the moment you both were finished. I am just happy that you both feel like the world is no longer on your shoulders."

Narcissa wiped a stray tear that had started falling down her cheek. "Now!" she clapped her hands together. "Shall we get you ready for dinner? Would you like some assistance?" she beamed

"I would appreciate all the assistance I can get. I know many spells about my hair and make-up now days thanks to Pans and Gin. However, I know very little about dresses and what makes me look good. And I don't want to overdress or worse; underdress!"

Both women laughed and thus began the bonding experience they both had always wanted. Hermione with a mother figure showing her what looks best with what and to make her feel pretty. It wasn't prom or anything special just simply playing dress up.

"Hermione, how did your mum used to do your hair for special occasions?"

"Oh um, she never really tried to do anything with it. The curls would never cooperate with her and hair spray did nothing but make my hair hard." Hermione fidgeted with her hands in her lap. "We never really did anything like this. We didn't have fancy dinners or anything. We were not very close but when we would talk it often felt like it was out of obligation. I loved my mum don't get me wrong. We just never really got on like a mother and daughter should."

Narcissa's face fell. How could anyone treat their daughter like they were nothing? She questioned herself. If Hermione were Narcissa's daughter she would have been given the world. She had always wanted a daughter, but due to something wrong with her Narcissa was not able to carry any other children after Draco. Nobody was ever able to give her answers though so she just had assumed that it was a family curse. She would do her best to make Hermione feel wanted….Always.

"Well then, we will just have to make our own memories!" she smiled and continued fixing Hermione's hair.

Her hair had tamed a lot since the previous years but it still had a lot of curl to it. Narcissa had taken her hair and parted it in half around the sides of her head to put it in a half ponytail. Although instead of just letting the loose curls fall out of the hair tie, she wrapped it lazily around the base of the ponytail and stuck it in place leaving a slightly mess bun just below the top of her head. The remaining curls cascaded around her face and down her back. Her bangs were apparent and parted perfectly to the left side of her face. Her eyes were brushed lightly with a purple shadow that traced the outside of her eyes with a purple gray grey shadow on the top eyelid making the mocha honey color of her eyes pop perfectly. Her lips were graced with a Rosie Berry Matte lipstick that made her pouty lips look fantastic.

"Now that we have the hair and make-up done we can get the dress!" Narcissa stood up and waltzed gracefully over to the wardrobe thumbing through the dresses that filled it.

"Narcissa, I could only hope to be able to walk across the room without tripping over the air." Hermione laughed.

"My dear, it has taken many years for me to learn to not trip over the air. I promise I have not always been so graceful. I suppose that means nothing too high for your shoes?"

"Oh please don't make me tower tonight. I am not sure I could handle that!"

Both women started laughing, after a few moments Cissa put her right index finger to her lips. She looked in deep thought and pulled out an A-Line/Princess V-neck Knee-length Chiffon dress, it was in the purest shade of emerald and looked like it would hug Hermione in all the right places while also being rather modest.

Hermione gasped "That is beautiful. Although I don't know how it will look on me. Do you think this color will wash me out?"

Narcissa smiled "Hermione, this green will make those eyes pop even more than they already are. Now go put it on and we will see if we need to alter the color.

After a few moments, Hermione checked herself in the floor length mirror. The V-Neck didn't dip too low and there were small sleeves that cupped her shoulders. It was perfect in length, which she was grateful for. She knew she could not handle a floor length gown, she had tripped over a shoe earlier; that was enough embarrassment to last a lifetime! She twirled and ran her fingers down the length of the dress feeling the subtle silk trimming around the edges; she relished in the soft velvet feel of the chiffon. This material was not cheap and she knew that she would likely never wear something so extravagant again.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the bathroom door to find Narcissa sitting on the same black sofa as before; waiting ever so patiently for her to come out of the bathroom. She put her hands over her mouth and smiled once again at the beauty that stood before her.

"Hermione! You look stunning!"

Hermione blushed. "Thank you."

"I will go, I am sure Draco will be 'picking you up' promptly in about 5 minutes. I wouldn't want to intrude on such a moment between the two of you."

Hermione turned, looked down and realized she needed shoes.

Before Hermione could ask, Narcissa was out the door and down the hall. She was on her own for this one.

Although when she skimmed through the various shoes she found a pair of Louboutin Tpoppins - Suede Black heels. She had always wanted to wear a pair of the red soled shoes but they were far too expensive. She slipped them on and studied herself once more.

Testing out the shoes, Hermione walked over to the dresser drawers and decided to look at the boxes that were placed on top. They looked like jewelry boxes and she was curious. Maybe there would be a matching set of earrings and a necklace. She felt that her neck was a bit bear; she had taken off the necklace her mother had given her, her first year at Hogwarts. The pain after they passed was too hard to continue wearing it.

She opened the first box to find a pair of beautiful black diamond earrings. The beads that dangled were strung together by a thin strand of 14k white gold. They were simple but elegant all at the same time. She wondered for a moment if it would be okay to wear them when she saw a note that was written once again for her eyes.

 _Hermione,_

 _Please help yourself to the jewels in these boxes. Whatever would look best with the colors you have chosen for the evening. I look forward to seeing you at dinner._

 _With love,_

 _Narcissa_

Hermione laughed, she had not ever felt so at home. And of course of all the places she could possibly feel safe would be Malfoy Manor. Thank Merlin that Draco was not here to laugh at her now always present blush. She shouldn't feel so at home here. But who cared, her best friend was here and they both were able to overcome a fear they both had. Now perhaps they could move on with life.

She opened the second box and found an assortment of different necklaces. She scanned through them and her eyes fell on a simple black diamond necklace to match the beaded earrings. The chain was long enough that the beads fell very close to the barely visible cleavage but remained modest.

Just as she was putting it on, a knock on the door told her that dinner had finally arrived.

She walked gracefully over to the closed door and opened it. Her heart thumped in her chest at such a rapid rate she was sure she was going to fall victim to a heart attack.

Draco stared at her, mouth open wide with surprise. He smiled wide and for the first time in a long time Hermione saw that it not only reached his eyes but the twinkle that once shined in his eyes were back. She stood there head held high, fighting the urge to fidget with dress or her hands. She looked like amazing.

Draco moved forward, took her right hand. He took his right hand and brushed a stray hair out of her eyes. She looked up at him realizing how close they were. Before she could say a word his lips were on hers. It was short and sweet. They parted after a moment, shock apparent on Hermione's face.

"Hermione, I- I- I am so sorry."

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Well another chapter down, I don't know how well I did on the last few chapters. I hope they have been enjoyable. Thank you as always for reading and following and favoriting! (I know that is not proper) but who cares ha. let me know what you all think. If you have idea LET ME KNOW! I love help with my writing! Every little bit to make every single one of my followers happy!

Love you all!


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: …Pureblood Princess

Thank you all for your encouraging words and guys I know the numbers are small but I am so excited to have 17 favorites and 54 followers! That just warms my tiny heart!

Y'all are the absolute best!

As always I do not own any of the characters!

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Hermione brought her fingers to her lips and smiled. Draco had just apologized; did he not feel the spark between them? She began to frown, what if he regretted kissing her. Sweet Salazar! How embarrassing! She should say something. Anything!

She opened her mouth to talk but decided to go by the old muggle saying. Actions speak louder than words.

With that thought in mind, she grabbed the retreating Slytherin before he could completely walk away.

"Granger, what ar-" he was cut off by her lips on his answering the whirling questions inside his head.

He wrapped his right arm around her waist and threaded his other in her magnificently curly locks. This, he could continue doing this for the rest of this life. She tasted like Colgate mint, and smelled like French vanilla coffee. He moaned into her kiss and deepened the kiss further. He grazed her top lip with his tongue asking permission to enter. And she accepted, after a moment of mild snogging; they parted once again.

"Draco, we are far passed using last names." She smirked up at him.

Not knowing what to say Hermione looked at Draco for help.

"Well that answers a few questions I have had." He started on his nervous ticks. His hand goes up to slowly to rub the back of his neck. He didn't dare touch his hair, it was perfect!

Hermione rolled her eyes "Oh well, I am happy to be of service." She smiled lightly at him

"Well then, shall we go?"

He grabbed her hand and led her down the hallway towards the dining hall.

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They walked in, hand in hand. Hermione would never admit it out loud but she was terrified that maybe the parents of the man who just kissed her in the hallway would still not approve of them possibly being an item. Whether it be due to blood status issues or just simply because she wasn't enough for him.

"Well, this is a nice surprise. My son is actually at dinner when he said he would be." Lucius quipped handing Draco a glass of what Hermione would assume was an expensive glass of Fire Whiskey.

"I do aim to please father." He smiled back taking the glass and taking a large sip followed by a satisfied sound flowing from his lips.

"Hermione, would you like a glass of wine?" Narcissa asked as she poured herself a glass.

"Oh please, I could use a glass after the day we have had."

Narcissa corked the bottle after pouring both of their glasses. She handed Hermione hers "I love the jewelry you chose to go with the dress; very anti Gryffindor Hermione."

"Thank you so much for letting me borrow so much today Narcissa!" she gushed.

"Borrow? Hermione, all of the things in that room are yours. I cannot ever repay you for bringing my son back to me but I will start with the shiny things first."

Both Draco and Lucius looked at one another and laughed. It had been ages since they had seen these two woman act so young. Narcissa especially, she hasn't giggled and laughed this much since her and Lucius were in Hogwarts.

They stood and talked for a while and then the floo rang letting them all know someone was going to be joining them shortly. With a pop Blinky came to announce that Ginny and Harry had arrived as well as Pansy and Theo.

"Masters Malfoys, Blinky is informing you also that dinner is ready. Pot roast, with carrots potatoes and tomatoes. Macaroni and cheese, corn, corn bread, salads with your choice of dressings. Turkey legs, mashed potatoes, fried okra. And for desserts treacle tart, knickerbocker glory, and of course pudding for young Mister Malfoy." Blinky stood tall and had on robes that Dobby would deem perfect for a free elf. Complete with the Malfoy family crest showing that they were part of the family.

"Blinky, you are amazing! It sounds fantastic." Narcissa swooned.

"Shall we all head to the dining hall?" Lucius asked with a raised eye brow.

They started to walk towards not only their friends but to a feast worthy of Hogwarts.

Draco walked slowly behind everyone and Lucius followed suit.

"You invited our friends?" Draco inquired. " how they were all out of town this morning?"

"Your mother made a deal they simply could not refuse and you know Pansy and Theo cannot say no to her and well Potter and Ms. Weasley are easily persuaded. And I thought perhaps you would like some friends to speak to at dinner, also we were unsure how Hermione would fair being here today. Mr. Potter has been a large help to your mother and I in helping us get back into the public eye but in a more appropriate manner, and I let him know that you two were being inquired about by your mother. I explained the situation and he said to let him know when we would be coming and he would do his best to make sure he and Ginny were here along with The Nott's. He didn't want her alone when he knew how much of a nightmare this place was for her the last time. He knows you two have become rather close, and judging by the way you walked in hand in hand this evening only proves that further. She is doing rather well considering what happened in that room. I am glad to be rid of it though."

Draco was barely listening to his father as he was distracted by the bouncing curls in front of him. He smiled to himself as he thought of the stolen kiss. He was worried she would slap him when his lips touched hers. But was gladly taken by surprise when she pulled him back and kissed him again, and this time harder and better.

"She looks radiant this evening."

"Huh? Oh yes she does." He stopped walking a moment. He looked at his father, he was thankful for all of this that happened today but he hoped his father didn't have some hidden agenda.

"Draco? Are you okay?" his father stopped with him.

"Why all the sudden are you trying to accomidate Hermione? And me even? None of it makes any sense father. You hated the idea of me with anyone other than Pansy or Daphne. I don't understand, please tell me that this is because of a real change of heart and you are not trying to get in good graces with Hermione to help your image."

It was the first time he had ever admonished his father and wasn't worried about being killed on the spot. Lucius' smile fell, he expected this talk just not so soon.

"Draco, it has nothing to do with good graces or our family image. But there is ulterior motive to my inviting you here. But it is NOT what you think, it is your mother. But I don't wish to spoil your evening. I will promise a talk with you and Miss Granger after dinner if that is alright with you? please she wouldn't want us talking before the feast is over with."

He tried to smile but it didn't quiet reach his eyes. Oh Sweet Merlin it must be bad, Draco thought.

"Okay, but please don't go back on that word before the evening is over. I won't sleep without knowing what is going on. As long as nothing hurts Hermione I will enjoy the evening."

They began walking again, this time both of them had sullen looks on their faces. Lucius looked almost tearful where Draco had fear behind his stormy greys.

They opened the doors to the dining hall to find everyone standing around laughing and talking like they didn't even notice the pair had gone missing. Narcissa looked up and gave Lucius a glare that would have sent Voldemort himself to an early grave had she ever given it to him.

Hermione held out her hand for Draco so that he would come closer and perhaps sit with her. She gave him a half smile silently asking if everything was okay. After placing a small kiss to her forehead he smiled back. Answering her question without the others noticing. It was a smile that could fool everyone but Hermione, it was a smile he had in sixth year saying that things were not okay but nobody could know that.

She pulled him closer and quietly murmured "Later?" in his ear. He nodded his head

A loud pop caught them all off guard "Dinners is ready Misters and Misses." Blinky bowed and to everyone's surprise he scampered away instead of apparating.

And the room was filled with delicious smells and red wine. It was perfect and all worry was momentarily forgotten.

"Shall we all sit?" Narcissa asked everyone with a genuine smile

The men being ever the gentlemen they were pulled out the ladies chairs and then sat themselves.

"Hermione, you look lovely! I just love that outfit!"

Hermione blushed. "Thank you Gin, Narcissa was kind enough to have a wardrobe full of lovely dresses and shoes! I will have to show you, I think you would go crazy if you saw it."

"Theo, so glad you make it mate." Draco had not even shaken his hand this evening and he felt he should acknowledge him.

"Well I didn't have much of a choice; this one here wouldn't have allowed me to say no even if I wanted to. She has missed you so. OW!" Looking over at the Pansy he saw her grin and playful pinch behind Theo's arm.

"Damn it woman, why must you abuse me in public!" he laughed

"Oh please anywhere else you would say you like it." she winked and immediately made him blush.

"Our children are all grown up Lucius, none of them are children anymore." She had a teary smile and her hand on her heart.

Pansy had a blush creep up her neck at those words. "I apologize Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy; I forget sometimes we are not around just our friends when we are at family dinners."

"Oh no dear, please talk amongst yourselves as you would anywhere else. I am just thrilled to have all of my favorite children in the same room."

Okay dinner needs to be over and done with. Draco began to worry more about his mother, what was she hiding? Why did she really want Hermione over too. Why are all of my friends here acting like everything is perfect.

Draco was so lost in his thoughts he didn't even realize everyone was getting up to move to the library for tea.

Pansy stayed behind to find Draco was looking a little less than happy.

"Draco, are you coming?" Pansy asked with a worried look on her face.

"Oh yes, sorry."

"Are you okay? And don't lie to me Draco Malfoy." With her hands on her hips she looked just a like his mother when she was getting onto him for being a brat.

"I honestly don't know Pans. Something is wrong with Mum, and I don't know what it is. Father said he would talk to Hermione and I after everyone left this evening. I am worried though, he would normally want to talk to me about her in private. I am scared." He looked down at his feet and fought hard to hold back the tears.

"Hey, I don't know what is going on with your mum, but know now that you are not alone and you will have all of us to get you through it all. You are practically my brother Draco, this is the only family I have left other than our friends. No matter what happens we are here for you. we love you Draco. I hope you know that, and you know you deserve it."

He looked at Pansy to find that her demeanor had changed completely.

"Thank you Pansy, we should head towards the library before everyone comes back."

They walked in and found everyone laughing about something that Harry was saying. Ginny on the other hand looked less than thrilled to be the butt end of the joke.

They all talked and laughed and even spoke about all the trips they had recently decided to take. And they all were very happy to be home and couldn't wait to start new adventures. Whatever that meant.

"Well we really must be going. It was lovely to see you again Mrs. Malfoy, perhaps we could do tea later this coming week?" Pansy asked with a smile.

"Of course dear, just owl me with the time and day."

"Mr. Malfoy thank you for inviting us over. It was nice to see you again as well. If you ever need anything, I am sure you can owl me or get with Draco. I will get the message." He held out his hand and they shook. And with a quick flash of green they were through the floo back home. Ginny and Harry followed behind after some short and awkward goodbyes.

"Well now that that is sorted, father? What is it you need to talk to me and Hermione about?"

"Draco dear, please sit down. Hermione if you could please also have a seat."

Hermione gave an uncomfortable nod, why was she to be a part of this family meeting. This was not a good thing.

"Draco, your mother and I want you to know we love you very much. That you mean the world to us and that we understand why you have been absent for so long. We see now the errors of our beliefs. We watched you and Hermione at dinner, you are very taken by one another after such a short amount of time. Your mother wanted to wait until we absolutely had no choice but to tell you this. We had hoped that things would work out in the end. Unfortunately that was not the case in this instance."

Draco was getting anxious.

"Would someone please tell me what is going on?" Draco half shouted. The words dripping with every ounce of worry that marred his handsome face.

"Oh darling." Narcissa stood up quickly and ran to her sons side. she hugged him as if her last. Oh Gods no!

"I have cancer Draco, the doctors have given me ONE year to live. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I didn't want to bother you unless it was absolutely necessary. And it seems that you knowing would be best before finding out through the papers and friends."

Draco sat there, frozen unable to move. Cancer? Why? This woman didn't deserve cancer.

With a lump in his throat he was finally able to whisper out "How?"

She held him tightly not letting go out of fear he might leave and never come back again.

"Prolonged exposure to the Cruciartis Curse."

He tensed up, no. this could not be it for her. he had to fix this somehow. Without saying a word he got up and walked out of the room. It took a moments before Hermione could even move. But just as she was getting up to follow him she was halted by Lucius and Narcissa asking her stay a moment.

"Hermione, we have something we need to tell you."

She sat back down, her throat dry and her heart breaking for this family.

"Okay….?"

They smiled at her, it was time.

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Well I am sure some of you figured that there would have to be something to throw a wrench into all the happiness going around.

Again I am super open to ideas. What are your thoughts? What could they have been waiting to tell her.

I suppose we will see. I know my updates are behind but I am working on it guys. I truly truly am.

Meg: I am so happy you are enjoying this, please tell me how you really feel ;P I hope this chapter is up to your standards.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Excuse Me?

I know the last chapter had kind of a weird title. But I thought the way I had dressed Hermione she would have passed for the perfect pureblood princess. I think she could anyways with her need to learn attitude. Anyway just thought I would clear that up.

Thank you again to those who have reviewed and also the ones that have favorited this story. You don't know how much it means to me. Especially Meg!

Anyway, enough of my babbling! Shall we see what needs to be said together?

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"Time to tell me what exactly?" Hermione gasped. What could they possibly have to tell her? her mind began reeling with questions and she now needed some answers.

Lucius and Narcissa straightened up a little, and spoke softly.

"Hermione, back during the war Draco didn't ask for much. He didn't ask for material items and he didn't have much in the way of friends. He has cared for you for a long time, and due to his behavior in school we all know how not fond of him you and your friends were. Am I correct in this accusation?"

"Well you are not wrong. But I kind of saw him as a misunderstood kind of villain in our story. He was mean yes, but he was just projecting everything he was taught." She raised her eyebrow as if to say _well look at what he was learning at home._

"Yes, well that is our mistake and I hope in time you can forgive us for hurting our son that way. He means the world to us and if anything were to happen to him I don't know what we would do. Anyway, when he received the dark mark; Voldemort asked him as a reward what he would want in return when our side had won-."

Hermione could feel the bile rising in her throat as she thought of all the horrible things that could have been requested by all the death eaters if they were given the same opportunity. She inwardly shuttered at the thought and continued to listen as Lucius spoke of Draco's wishes.

"All Draco asked for was a wife and protection for our family. He didn't ask for high ranks and he didn't ask for multiple women, he asked for ONE wife and of his choosing."

Again Hermione was not able to hold in the breath that escaped her lips. She wasn't sure she liked where this was going and suddenly for the first time since stepping foot in this house she thought about running away.

She twisted her fingers in her lap. She had a lump in her throat, and her stomach was suddenly in knots. Lucius took her silence as a sign to continue explaining.

"Hermione, he chose you. He asked that once we won if he could take you as his wife, only then would he agree to the dark lords request. So much was at stake and he didn't want to think about your death in the process also. He has cared about you far longer than I believe any of us ever realized, when the dark lord heard this request he laughed of course. He asked Draco why he would want a (excuse my language) filthy mudblood whore as a wife. It was when Draco answered that I knew he was doing it out of more than just a simple crush. Because Draco did not talk about women the way he spoke."

She stared in shock for a moment. "What did he say?"

"I said, _because I want to teach the mudblood where her place is day in and day out. I want to hear her screams when I come for her in the evenings, and I want everyone to know that for once I got the best of Hermione Granger, and I want her to know it for the rest of her pathetic days."_

Startled by the second male voice in the room Hermione turned to see an ashen Draco standing in the doorway. He looked like he was about to fall over from all of the emotions that had boiled up inside him. His mother dying, his parents telling his secret to the woman he has loved for most of his life.

This right here is the very reason he said she would never want to speak to him again. The reason he should have stayed away and he knew it. She knew it, everyone knew it. He was no good for her and he wouldn't ever push her to be his if she didn't want it.

"Oh Draco, you wanted to keep me safe. You didn't actually believe the awful things you said did you?"

"Of course not, but nobody else could know that. I cared about you Hermione, I still do. But I couldn't watch you die. I prayed to the Gods every day that you made it out alive. And then you showed up to our Manor and everything changed. You looked awful, and I had to pretend I didn't care. I had to watch as you were tortured and I was sent to kill your parents-"

He was cut off

"Wait, how could you be sure he wouldn't go back on his word? And Draco, we went over this. I do not blame you for my parents."

His face fell, he didn't like this conversation

"Of course after I made my request and gave him my answer Father made it a point to use old magic and bind it with a contract so that no matter what happened you would continue to remain mostly unharmed. I wanted to make it say you were not to be harmed completely but then there would have been far too many questioning my loyalty to that madman. Any harm that came to you had to be from my family. Which is why Bellatrix was able to hurt you so badly."

He left the confines of the door frame and sat next to Hermione. She noticed his eyes were red rimmed from the crying he had finished doing. She thought perhaps he used a silencing charm because his voice was hoarse from what would seem his screaming. She knew that knowing his mother wasn't going to live much longer hurt him deeply. All she wanted to do was hold him close like he had done a few times lately with her screams and sobs.

He grabbed her hand and brushed his thumb across her knuckles.

"Hermione, I never believed you and I would be friends; but I couldn't live a life where you didn't exist. If we won you would at least be safe with me. And I would never have forced anything on you. I hope you know that. I had only hoped after Voldemort fell that you would perhaps find it in yourself to forgive me and we could at best be civil. Father put a read between the lines spell that only could be read by myself and the one that was being protected by the contract. It stated that should Voldemort fall then the contract would be null and void, and you would have no obligations."

"So essentially you are telling me that you signed a document that could be seen as a slave binding contract to keep my safe?!"

Hermione didn't know how to feel. She was angry and happy all at once, she knew there were good intentions but it was barbaric. How could anyone sign anything binding someone against their will?!

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked

"You needed to know, if it ever got out that Draco had said such things now then it could cause an uproar. And seeing as you two are out and about on a regular basis we didn't want anyone trying to use it against you; if you didn't know then someone could easily turn it around on you. I realize that the death eaters were caught, however there are followers that were never marked and could have blended in easily so they didn't get caught. Not all followers were Slytherin you know."

Lucius was worried she would reject everything that was said and run away. But ever the brave heart of the Golden Trio Hermione stood her ground and got all the facts.

Her anger had subsided and was replaced by a feeling she couldn't quiet place. This family risked a lot by going behind Voldemort's back. They could have easily been killed.

"Well thank you I suppose. I will read this over and see what all it says. I was angry at first but knowing that Draco cared so much for me changes a lot of things; thank you Draco for thinking of my safety. I hope you understand when I say I care about you but need some time to think about this. I will read this over though. I wouldn't want to be completely taken by surprise, and I believe that you and I are going to be spending a lot more time in the wizarding world. Thank you for being a friend when I needed it Ferret." She smirked

She patted his hand stood to leave

"Narcissa, Lucius? Thank you for everything, you didn't have to do any of it. You didn't have to try and keep me safe, you will never know what that means to me. And tonight was perfect. I couldn't have asked for better friends."

As she walked away slowly with the contract in hand leaving the trio behind her, she smiled to herself. This is what families do; they protect the ones they love. She had not ever felt like she was loved before. Not like this and it opened a whole new room in her heart and mind. Maybe she and Draco could work out after all. Perhaps this friendship could be more. She needed to talk to someone about this but first; first she needed to read this contract, she had to know what was said and what was between the lines.

She walked slowly into her room and closed the door. She hummed her favorite tune from the movie Anastasia. As she danced around slowly getting ready for bed the events of the day flashed in her mind. The room, the dinner, the contract, Narcissa having cancer. She knew deep down that something was wrong when they walked into the Manor and saw that so much had changed. They were more okay with the idea of muggles and muggle borns. Clearly they had sought out muggle doctors when they were searching for ways to keep Cissa alive. She looked at her watch and realized she had been sitting on her bed thinking for over an hour. It was getting late and she needed rest, but she really wanted to read more into the contract, she needed to know if there was any merit to what she was feeling or if this was just a school boy crush. Clearly he had feelings for her but where were they placed? She had so many questions and she couldn't concentrate. She sat on the bed staring at the wall for a few minutes, she glanced at the clock and realized she had sat for another hour in silence.

"Sweet Merlin, I need to get to bed. It is already after ONE in the morning." She whispered to only herself.

Climbing into bed she stopped. She felt a tug in her heart that she needed to go and see Draco before bed. Make sure he was okay. Today was a big day, and he probably wasn't asleep yet.

She patted softly across the room and down the hall; she was about to open the door when a blood curdling scream and a burst of magic pushed her back. She got her balance back, she cast a silencing charm so not to wake his parents and burst into his room.

There she found him sweat glistening off his chiseled abdomen, his hair looking as if he had just gotten out of the shower. His eyes though, seeing his eyes made her heart clench. He had them screwed tightly shut, he was screaming out in pain and agony. She stepped forward and sat on the edge of the bed.

"NO! NOT HERMIONE! THEY CAN'T HAVE HERMIONE! FATHER WHAT DO I DO?! SHE CAN'T DIE! AUNT BELLA WILL KILL HER! SHE WON'T THINK TWICE! HOW DID SHE GET CAUGHT! SHE IS SUPPOSED TO BE PROTECTED!"

Soft whimpers escaped his lips and then the lashing began again. "I LOVE HER FATHER! DON'T YOU SEE!?"

He began sobbing in his sleep. Completely unaware that the witch he was dreaming about was sitting on his bed drinking in his confession.

She knew he had feelings for her but to say he loved her? It took her a moment to come back down to earth. He needed to be woken up, she couldn't let him continue screaming. She gently cupped his face in her hands.

"Draco darling, I am here. Nobody hurt me, I am here. Wake up Draco."

He stopped screaming with her words and grabbed her hands with his. He pulled her close to him holding her to him with an iron grip.

"Stay with me." He whispered

"Always." She said

She turned on her side and placed her head on his chest. His confession brought her to her knees. He probably wouldn't remember it in the morning but she would. And she would hold onto it until he said he didn't want her anymore. She pushed the negative thoughts away and eased into his side letting him hold her once again for dear life. This was her best friend and if she could help him by simply being close then she would. All she had to fear now was him waking up to find her lying next to him and freaking out.

She hummed and rubbed soft circles on his chest and slowly drifted off to sleep. The morning would bring a new dawn and they could talk as long as they needed to without the interruption of friends.

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Well I don't know how I did on that chapter, I might have just gotten in slightly over my head. I thought I might give the massive cliffhangers a break and allow some space for imagination over the holidays. I feel like this chapter sets a serious base for what is up and coming.

Again thank you to everyone for the reviews. This has been so fun writing and I am so happy that so many of you like it!

Still in search of a beta. If you want to talk to me about it let me know.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! And if you don't celebrate that is cool I wish you best of holidays love you all!

Thank you for encouraging me to keep going


	17. Chapter 17

Hermione woke up and felt the heat of another body wrapped around her waist. Moving carefully so not to wake him up she managed to get out of the bed; she went to her room for just a moment to grab some reading material while she waited for Draco to wake up. She knew after last night he would be embarrassed and probably a little on the cranky side. So she wanted to be prepared.

She quickly grabbed the contract off the side table in her room.

She walked back into Draco's room and snuck back into his bed with him she settled close so she could comb her fingers through his silk hair as she read the contract.

She was startled out of her reading by his sudden question.

"Why do you feel like you need to read that? It isn't like it will affect you now and it isn't like it means anything anymore." His face was buried into the pillow as he continued to enjoy her nails lightly scraping across his scalp.

"I know it doesn't mean anything to you Draco, but this document shows how you thought of me during a time I thought you hated me. I need to see what pieces of this puzzle I missed and how I managed to miss them. Although having Ron and Harry around I am sure didn't make me exactly approachable." She felt the rise and fall of his shoulders as they began to shake as though he was laughing. Good a laugh was good.

"Well I suppose you are right, I would only have been able to talk to you without them or my own "friends" around."

"This is living proof that you were not actually an arse the whole time you were under the reign of Voldemort. You had a heart during the war and so many people would believe that you wanted me dead. It may mean nothing to you but it means a whole other world to me. Of course it could also be seen as harmful because of what you said you wanted to do with me. I never would have imagined you to come up with such harsh punishments."

"Well, they wouldn't have been so open to the idea if I had said that it was because I was in love with you. Or that I really just wanted you safe. I would have been killed on the spot. I had to be creative and it had to make sense to Voldemort and the other death eaters."

"I suppose you are right. I see this logically, it is just strange reading about it. And I will have to thank your father for the reading between the lines charm he invented for this."

"What exactly does it say? After the draft was made I had to sign it quickly or they would have gotten suspicious of me. I had to seem as though I trusted them completely otherwise I would have probably been cursed until I couldn't move."

Hermione internally shivered at the thought. Draco was stronger than any of them had realized and it was not fair to him that so many people were so cruel

"Why didn't you read it later? Surely you had to be curious."

"I was, but I knew the contract was void so I saw no point in reading it over. Plus, I wanted to win you as mine without the sounds of the contract ringing back in my head." He gave her the eyes of the most pathetic puppy he could come up with silently asking her to read him the contract.

"Oh FINE!" she laughed "I will read it out loud"

Here in lies the contract stating that when Tom Marvello Riddle otherwise known as Lord Voldemort win the current war between Half-Bloods, Purebloods, and Mudbloods then Draco Lucius Malfoy shall be awarded one wife of his choosing whom is:

Name: Hermione Jean Granger

Blood Status: Mudblood

Marital Status: Single

Reasons for this contract conclude that should at any time Ms. Granger become captured she is not to be killed or raped.

When Lord Voldemort wins this war then she will come to the beck and call of one Draco Lucius Malfoy

When in his presence she will comply with any and all of his needs and requests without hesitation and will also call him by a name of his choosing.

When called she will appear in lingerie that will be provided for her and only these garments.

She will do as told at all times.

She will be not only his wife but also his mistress. Should Mr. Malfoy find he favors a lady of pureblood decent and wishes to marry said lady, either Ms. Granger will be dealt with accordingly or will be a mistress so long as he complies with whatever his new wife will ask of him.

Draco does not wish nor will he ever wish to marry any other young lady. He will remain faithful to one Hermione Jean Granger and treat her as the lady that she is. He will comply as he would with any marriage.

Should the light side of this war win, Draco Lucius Malfoy will not force Ms. Granger into any kind of relationship. Should they somehow become friends he will treat her accordingly and when he brings her home he will inform her of this contract or Myself or Narcissa Malfoy will.

She will not be treated as anything less than the magnificent witch that she is. And she will be treated with respect and dignity.

Signed: Lucius Malfoy Signed: Narcissa Malfoy

Furthermore I Lucius Malfoy do hereby agree to this contract as that of a binding one and shall see to it that once said war is over that Draco Lucius Malfoy will have the wife he chooses.

Signed: Lucius Malfoy

Signed: Lord Voldemort

Signed: **Draco Lucius Malfoy**

"This is bloody awful! You know you would have had to kill me before I would have agreed to any of these terms right?" she laughed

"Like I would expect anything less out of you Beaver." He tried to sound arrogant but it was pointless now "Also, you would have been able to read between the lines so you would have seen that none of this would have actually been what was to happen. I would have treated you with respect."

"Uh huh, sure you would have. To me you will ALWAYS be the furry ferret from school." she teased.

She sat the contract on the side table and started to snuggle into the bed once again. It was so warm and comfortable and the sheets were fabulous.

He looked at her curiously and turned to prop himself up with his left hand to face her. She followed suit and mirrored his actions.

"Not that I mind or anything but may I ask why you are in MY bed? I strictly recall falling asleep alone last night."

Hermione's heart sank; recalling the events of the evening before was painful. To see him in such distress scared her and all she wanted to do was be there for him.

"Well, last night I came to make sure you were alright and well; you were not alright. There was a scream and then a burst of magic and I came in without permission. You were having a nightmare, and once I got you calmed down you kind of asked me to stay."

She gave him a look, one full of sadness but joy at the same time. Remembering his confessions made her happy, but knowing he still was so affected hurt. Also there was the whole saying I love you thing. She knew he had said that he was in love with her with his parents there but they were barely just friends. Could she love someone so quickly? Her heart and her very logical head were saying the same thing but she was still terrified. What if he found it was always just a crush.

"Hermione, I am so sorry you had to witness that kind of nightmare. I guess I haven't had one like that in a while. I hope I didn't hurt you in the process. My magic bursts tend to be pretty bad when I get that way. I think it was just a lot of emotion. I went to bed after letting a lot of my feelings out. In fact I don't even remember falling asleep."

Putting her left index finger across his lips to shush him.

"Never apologize to me for feeling. As long as you are alright I am fine. You being practically my new best friend-" she paused

"Draco, what exactly are we?" she blushed "After the kissing and the confessions last night I am a bit confused?"

Draco looked nearly just as puzzled and then in deep thought.

"Well I would love to be more than 'just friends' but if you are not ready for that then I will not push you. We haven't known one another on this kind of a level very long and so I would understand if you wanted to wait a bit longer."

Biting her lip she thought about his words. 'more than just friends' he said. he really wanted to give them the chance for a relationship. he didn't want anyone else, after Ron, Hermione found herself constantly worried that whomever she ended up with would find someone else if she didn't give into their 'needs' after several long minutes she spoke.

"I think… I would like to be more than friends also. But-" Draco rolled his eyes playfully, _there is always a 'but'_ he thought to himself. "-But I would like to take things slow. I don't want us to rush in and then regret everything we have done." She started playing with the sheets so she wouldn't have to look directly at him.

Another long minute he placed his finger under her chin and urged her to look up. "Hermione, I will take things as slow as you need me to. Is it too forward to ask if we can sleep longer though? Because I for one am exhausted and I am not sure I am ready to face the day." he had a far off look in his eyes. He didn't want to think about the fact that his mother may not live to see his wedding day, or his grandchildren. She saw the tears start rimming his eyes and all she wanted to do was make it stop. Her heart burned with the painful storm she saw dancing behind those grey eyes.

She moved to snuggle closer to him. "I will be here through all of it Draco Malfoy"

A sad smiled played on his lips as wrapped his comforting arms around Hermione and held her like it was the last thing he would ever do. With painful thoughts swimming through his mind he fell asleep once again.

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OH MY GOD! I am so sorry for not getting a chapter out quickly y'all. I have had a lot of personal issues going on and so I haven't had much of a want to write.

I know this chapter is short, but I wanted to touch on why Hermione wanted to read the contract.

We all know she has to get all the facts before she makes any kind of decisions. We also know she is caring and loving so I wanted to show her compassion for Draco in this chapter a little bit. So far it has been about how she is being comforted by him. I felt like he needed some comfort and with that came their new relationship status. I still have a great deal planned and do hope you are not getting bored. As I have said multiple times that this is my first fic but I hope it works out the way I would like.

I am still on the lookout for a BETA, if you know of one or are willing please PM me.

Again I appreciate the flow of reviews as always and any constructive criticism is always welcome!


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: That Explains a Lot

A gentle knock on Draco's door woke Hermione up. She had a hard time staying completely asleep after the first hour. She never liked sleeping the entire day away. But half was more than acceptable. She smiled as the arm around her stomach tightened slightly.

"Draco, I think you are being summoned." She joked.

He answered her with a lazy groan.

She laughed and playfully smacked his arm.

Slowly moving to get out of the all too comfortable bed he sat on the edge for a moment. His eyes beginning to storm over again. "I am not ready to face them Hermione. I am not able to pretend this is not happening and I don't want to imagine a life without my mum."

He put his head in his hands and tousled his hair a bit and then dug the palms of his hands into his sensitive eyes.

Hermione moved up against his back and wrapped her arms lovingly around his body.

"You won't have to do this alone Draco. I know it is not easy but you and your father will get through all of this; and I will help in any way that I can." She kissed his cheek as another soft but harder knock on the door brought them back reality.

"COMING!" Draco half shouted.

He got up and opened the door to find a rather impatient and less than rested Lucius.

"Are you just now waking up son? It is nearly 2 in the afternoon. Anyway your mother would like to see Ms. Granger and I would like to speak with you. Don't worry, it is not an intervention." He smiled at them both before realizing they were both still in their pajamas.

"Did I interrupt something?" he asked with a blonde disapprovingly raised eyebrow.

They looked at one another. "No sir, Hermione heard me having a nightmare last night and came to see if I was okay. Obviously I wasn't and so she stayed to make sure I wasn't a danger to myself. She was just returning the favor I have done for her so often. I suppose being back here brought some less than great memories swimming back. Being here I think brings all the pain I ever felt to front of my mind."

If she hadn't been looking she wouldn't have caught the wince that Lucius made when Draco had said that the pain was brought back. Her heart ached for both men as she knew they had worse demons to battle every day being in this hell. She only hoped she could help Draco like he helped her.

"I know nothing I say or do will ever make you trust me again Draco, I only hope we can look forward to a better future instead of dwelling on such heinous past." his eyes were stinging with warm tears that begged to fall. Looking up and blinking rapidly like it would make them disappear he brought his attention back to his son and the woman he could tell very much had his heart; that stood in front him. All the innocence they once had gone from their adult features. Why did they have to grow up so fast? Why did Cissa have to be sick? He was sure the muggle God that so many believed in was punishing him for his past transgressions. He only hoped he could make up for it all before time slipped through the cracks and there wasn't any left to reconcile.

A subtle cough brought him back from his thoughts.

With another look of disapproval he smirked a little "Sleep together often do we?"

They both had shocked looks spread across their faces. "NO!" they said in unison

"Well not really together. More like I stay near her or she falls asleep while we are watching movies or me reading to her."

"No matter" he waved his hands "Do be careful, you are grown adults but Draco, there are still rules that must be followed by you and whomever you decide to bed in our home. You recall those don't you?"

"Father! We slept! That is all we did!"

By now both young adults were red with the accusations being thrown at them by Lucius. They looked again at one another and gave an apologetic look before the room was filled with uncontrollable laughter.

"What is so funny?" Draco asked

"Your faces! Oh please I know you two didn't do anything last night. I know the two of you had one too many things on your mind last night to even think about being 'together'"

He hunched over in laughter for another 5 minutes before composing himself once again.

Wiping the tears from his eyes "Now! as I said before, Cissa still would like to see you and I would like to speak with you; although we have so much more to add to the conversation now."

They both let out a nervous laugh and then it turned into a full on fit the more they thought about.

Thankful for the laughter after some heavy words they decided it was time to move on to their respected meetings.

"Where is Narcissa?"

He eyed her a bit looking at the pajamas that still adorned her body along with the unkempt hair.

"Don't worry, I fully plan on changing into appropriate attire to meet with her." she laughed as she saw him let out a sigh of relief.

"She will meet you in the foyer at the end of the stairs." She bowed out in mock curtsy. Both men laughed again at her boldness and took her little joke quiet well.

Back in her room Hermione examined the woman in front of her. She had showered and changed into some muggle jeans and a silk grey button up shirt with a red under shirt. Of course her shoes never changed much, she preferred sporting her pair of classic Chuck Taylors. She adorned her face with light natural make up and a pink lip color.

Finally feeling like she was ready to meet with the matriarch of the Malfoy home on her own she got up and made her way to the stairs where Narcissa sat on the last step of the extravagant staircase with a book looking every bit the elegant woman she once had seen. But her eyes seemed sad and the smile she flashed Hermione didn't seem to quiet reach her eyes.

She stood to greet the new woman in Draco's life.

"Hermione, so good to see you. I wasn't sure you would want to meet with me."

"Not at all! I am more than happy to meet with you anytime" she smiled.

The two women walked until they reached the gardens. There sat a sweet little table with cakes, cookies, and sandwiches. And also eggs, bacon, waffles, and toast.

"I thought you would perhaps be hungry but for what I wasn't sure, I hope you are not a vegetarian."

"HARDLY! I appreciate the thought Mrs. Malfoy."

Cissa held up her hand to stop Hermione for a moment "Please dear, call me Cissa."

"Oh yes, sorry. I am not used to not using such formalities." She blushed "Mr. Malfoy – I mean Lucius said you wished to speak with me. I assumed it was over something important?"

"Ah, yes. Are you and Draco courting? Or dating?"

The question slightly caught her off guard. "Well, we are together I believe. We have been kind of dancing around it for a while now I suppose."

Shifting in her seat she was becoming uncomfortable with the questions she was positive would follow.

"Did you read the contract?"

"Yes ma'am, I must say that I appreciate the read between the line clause you and Lucius charmed in there."

"That was for your safety as much as Draco's. We wanted no harm to come to him should Voldemort have won." She seemed to be looking in a far distance for a moment before coming back to reality.

Picking up her tea she blew carefully on it before taking a sip. Her thoughts flooding the front of her mind.

"Hermione, I am truly sorry for the actions of my sister. And even the actions of my husband. I know it doesn't mean anything coming from me, but I do hope in time you are able to forgive us our past."

"Narcissa, I forgave you the moment it happened. Nothing you said or did would have made the situation any better. In fact it more than likely would have made it worse, your entire family could have been murdered if you had tried to help me while I was here. I do NOT blame you for the actions that happened in the drawing room. Those were not yours and it would be unfair of me to hold that against you."

Hermione reached over and gently squeezed Narcissa's hand

"How do you feel about my son? No pressure of course, I just need to know how things will go from here."

A hint of worry graced her features. Hermione suddenly noticed the gentle lines that flowed through her face. Some of worry, some from the war, and some from fear for the future of herself and her family. She couldn't help but admire the woman's strength. She had so much to live for and so little time to live it.

Wringing her hands a bit and looking down with a smile that reached her eyes she said "I love your son Narcissa. I do, I think part of me has been drawn to him for some time. Hearing the stories that Blaise and Theo would tell me made me want to know him. And then we ran into one another that day and its been amazing since. He keeps me grounded, and I feel safe when he is around. I don't have such nightmares anymore and he makes sure I know what I am worth. We didn't want to jump into anything because of mine and Ron Weasley's split up only a few months ago. But it seems we couldn't help ourselves." She blushed with that last statement and she dared to look at the woman her _boyfriend?_ So much admired.

Narcissa smiled at her words. She was put to ease almost immediately after she heard what Hermione had to say. "You have no idea how much better that makes me feel. While we may not really care if he is with a muggle or a witch we would rather prefer him be with someone who would understand him for who he is now and not because of his money. He is still a very wealthy young man Hermione, I would hate for a muggle girl to find out later that he was a wizard after their children did accidental magic. Wouldn't want anything like what happened between Mr. Finnigan and his parents. His poor father was so shocked to find out about his wife, of course they eventually were able to work things out and he accepted her for who she was but the girls Draco surrounded himself with were not women who would understand his heritage, let alone his past."

"I must say I was slightly shocked when he approached me in the park that day. We grew into very close friends rather quickly and it certainly caught me by surprise. Although Theo and Blaise I am nearly positive placed bets to see how long it would take for us to run into one another and then become friends." she stifled a laugh into her hand trying her best to be semi lady like.

"So I see you are indeed rather close with his past friends. how did that happen?"

"Long story short, Pansy and I actually became close first. She knew about my parents and when she lost hers she needed someone who would understand. While her parents may have been on the other side of the war they loved their daughter. She was distraught when they had passed. She saught me out and soon we became close, we had something that many of our friends couldn't really relate to. Other than maybe Harry, but he never really knew his parents so it made it difficult for him to sympathize with me. It was nice to have another woman to talk to in depth about something so painful."

She looked at the woman and continued speaking "Of course soon after that she found Theo and then we had dinner and he invited Blaise of course because well why not as he put it. We all hit it off after that and of course Pansy and Theo are very much infatuated with one another. We all began to hang out regularly and of course Ron didn't appreciate that an-"

She stopped mid-sentence horrified that she was now rambling like she used to with her mother. It felt so natural. "I am so sorry Mrs. Malfoy, I am rambling about things that mean nothing. I will stop." She seemed to put her head down in shame for speaking so much. Narcissa didn't understand why.

"Child, tell me now why you feel like I don't want to know these things? I want to know everything. I have not spoken much to Draco or his friends in so long. It is nice to hear how everything came about and better yet how my son finally managed to get the witch he has dreamed of since second year! Do not apologize for talking, I never had a daughter but I would hope that she would confide in me as you have today." She smiled and reached for a treacle tart. With an innocent moan she closed her eyes and took in the taste of the delicious treat!

Hermione was stunned, had this woman just told her that she could speak as she wished without fear of being shut down? Being told to get over it? and better yet that she should never apologize for wanting to speak about her life? Of course it was ALL about her son and his past friends. of course she would want to hear about them. why wouldn't she.

Narcissa stood and wiped her hands on the napkin that was once across her lap. "Now, shall we walk? I would very much like to hear more about you and Draco." She smiled and they began their walk through the breathtaking gardens.

 _ **Meanwhile in Lucius' study….**_

"Draco, you know I don't mind your choice of witch anymore. Honestly I don't believe I ever truly did at least in the middle of the war I decided it wouldn't matter as long as you were alive. I hope you know that." he smirked a little as he offered his son a drink

"It's a bit early for a drink isn't it?" he said as he shook his head to decline. "I wouldn't think you cared anymore but you did after the war. You wanted me to marry a pureblooded witch right after school and I didn't want anyone else but Hermione still. You say it never really mattered but you and I both know it would have given you a heart attack if I came home with a muggleborn on my arm ready to marry her." Draco gave him a knowing glance and rolled his eyes a little as his father didn't move a muscle for a good thirty seconds.

"Draco, I wanted what was best and honestly at the time I thought it was one of the greengrass girls. I didn't want you pining over someone you couldn't have and never live."

"Father, I understand that but I wanted to win her on my terms and on hers. Even if it meant just being friends for the rest of our lives." He smiled knowing that friends were no longer what they were.

"Draco, I must ask you seriously. Did you and Hermione _just_ sleep together last night? I know it may not matter at her home but here in thi-" he was cut off by Draco

"Father, please we barely decided to be more than friends recently so no we did NOT have sex in my old bedroom. We simply slept through the evening and part of the today. Hermione wants to wait for that I think. Until her wedding night if I am not mistaken; she is still a virgin." He smiled knowing if she would have him he would love to be her husband one day.

"That is unusual for young ladies now days. But I am more than okay with that decision." He smiled as he drank slowly from his firewhiskey.

They both let out a small laugh as the tension slowly began to dissipate.

"So, do you plan on holding this relationship for while then?" he asked already knowing the answer.

"I don't plan on ever letting her go now that I have her" he smiled.

This was perfect. Their son was happy, Narcissa had her boy back and he had his son. He couldn't imagine letting him ever go again. He hated himself for his actions in the past and is happy he has a chance to fix it all.

"Well it seems your mother and Hermione are getting on pretty well." He smiled as he stared out the window over looking the gardens at the two ladies gracefully walking through the gardens arm in arm almost as if they were mother and daughter.

Draco started to get misty eyed as he knew that this meant a lot to Hermione since she lost her own mother. And this was something his own mother wished for countless times as he grew up. He did his best to wipe away the tears with his thumb without being noticed.

Lucius only hoped silently that his Cissa would get many more days like this before she was no longer able to enjoy them. He cursed himself in his head for allowing things to happen to her because of him. She deserved so much more than to die at an early age. She was barely in her late 40s and she wasn't going to be able to live to see her grandchildren. They wouldn't know the woman that was walking with a muggleborn. They would know the stories of her sure. But they wouldn't feel her sweet reassuring hugs and the warmth her smiles brought when she listened to a new story. It just wouldn't be the same.

His chest felt heavy and the lump in his throat got thicker by the second until Draco cleared his own.

"Well, we have turned into a few saps haven't we dad?" he smiled as he gently placed his hand on his shoulder.

"That we have my boy, that we have."

They watched their beautiful women walk a little longer before sitting on the couch in his study.

They spoke of their lives now and how everything came about to them being okay with muggles and muggleborns 100%

His father explained that they went as far as seeing muggle doctors to get answers for his mother and they got some medicines from them that helped her feel better and if muggles could come up with something that would make her time any better he was willing to swallow his pride and do whatever it took. He was being selfish and knew he just needed a little more time but he knew no amount of time would be near enough.

After a bit of silence Draco heard the singing down the hall of one of Hermione's favorite American bands.

 _Take every memory ingrained in me_

 _Erase it from my thoughts so I can sleep_

 _I'd do anything to feel no pain_

 _Name your price and take the past away_

 _Take every memory ingrained in me_

Draco and Lucius both stopped to listen as her voice carried through the long hallway.

"You know, when she tries to sing something that means something to her she sounds beautiful." Draco commented.

"Does she not always try?" he seemed confused.

He shook his head with a playful smile. "She actually tends to mess around with it most of time. She has become more playful? If that is a good word for it; since the end of the war. She has come a long way from her too serious to do anything self from Hogwarts.

She and Narcissa walked in shortly after they finished speaking.

"You really do have a lovely voice Hermione, I very much enjoyed those words. Perhaps you can show me who sings that sometime?" Hermione smiled and nodded her head to confirm her question.

"We were just saying the same thing." both men smiled as they saw the blush creep up Hermione's cheeks.

"Honestly I was just thinking how fitting it was that we are here and learning to let go of the past memories. Almost like we are learning together. And when a song is in my head I must sing it or it will stick there for days until I listen to it. I appreciate the compliments though."

With that Narcissa turned to her husband switching from Hermione's right arm to Lucius' left. She smiled at him.

"Gentlemen, we are going to go shopping I think. Would you care to join us?" Narcissa smiled that reached her eyes for the first time in years. It was the most satisfying thing that Lucius had witnessed and didn't wish to miss a moment of it.

"Yes, I think we shall. Draco?" he stood

"Of course! I wouldn't miss this time for anything."

They all smiled and set off for an afternoon shopping in muggle London.

Both men watched as Narcissa and Hermione laughed and smiled the whole time they spoke. Nothing more could make them happier than they were at this moment knowing that for now, everything was going to be okay. Life might not be perfect but this moment was just that.

AN: Okay, so I found out I was pregnant here a few months ago so I have been busy and resting. And honestly just enjoying other people's fanfics! So I found some time today to get down and write. I really appreciate all your patience and time you have taken on this journey with me. I know it is not the best writing I am still learning here. But I appreciate all the favorites and followers I have

Also the song that Hermine is singing is called _**What I Wish I Could Forget by Too Close To Touch**_ I realize this band didn't come out for another 10 years or so but I was listening to it while writing this. It may have some significance later on in the story but for now it is just a song I thought went well with what was happening right now.

As Always I appreciate your reviews and critiques.

Thank you all again for loving this story enough to read it!


	19. COMING SOON

****ATTENTION READERS!****

 **I am so sorry for the delay in getting y'all an update.  
I assure you that this fiction is NOT abandoned.**

 **I realize I have waited a long time to update and that has stemmed from being pregnant, having the baby and also having severe writers block.**

 **I plan on getting back into my writing more over the next few weeks and hopefully I will be able to finish this fiction by around the summer time.**

 **My block is mostly gone and I have so much I want to say.**

 **Thank you to all of my wonderful readers who have kept up with this fiction and again I sincerely apologize for the delay in letting you know what happens to with the Malfoy's and Hermione!**

 **Trust me! I am excited to tell you!**


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